Zak Saturday's Immortal Love Life
by YouWillAlwaysBeLovedJasonGrace
Summary: Zak meets a girl who is quite different from many other girls. Zak has the power to control cryptids, but the girl, however, has powers that can do many other things. They develop feelings for each other quickly and go on many adventures together, but their relationship won't always be easy. It's filled with many adventures, friendship, humor, angst, and, of course, a lot of drama.
1. The Meeting

**Zak's POV.**

I was hanging out in the woods near my house, having some alone time with myself.

As I was walking, I spotted a girl knocked unconscious under a tree thirty feet away and I quickly ran over to her to see if she was ok.

She was covered in some leaves.

I pushed them off of her and looked her over.

She looked to be about my age, but with dirt covering most of her, it was hard to see her clear appearance.

She had a big bruise on her forehead, a cut on her right arm, and a scabbard tied around her waist, the three-foot-long sword lying on the ground a few feet away from her.

I'm guessing she's some kind of combat warrior or something.

I leaned down to her chest and checked her heartbeat. It was very faint.

She needed help.

I decided to pick her up, and bring her to Mom and Dad to see what they could do to help her.

She was a little heavy, but I was able to carry her home.

When I got inside, Fisk, Mom, Dad, and Komodo were there, and when they saw me carrying the girl, they had a surprised look on their faces.

"Zak, who do you have there?" Mom asked. "What happened?"

"I found her unconscious under a tree," I said. "Her heartbeat is very faint. She needs help!"

"Let's take her to the infirmary," Dad said.

I handed her to Fisk and he carried her to the infirmary.

He laid her down on a bed.

Mom and Dad gave her some treatment, and her heart eventually was beating normally.

I dabbed her forehead and right arm with a wet cloth, washing away as much of the blood as I could, then wrapped Band-Aids around them.

Mom untied the scabbard from around her waist.

She narrowed her eyes. "Did she have a sword with her when you found her?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'll go get it."

After I returned with the girl's sword, I put the sword in it's sheath, and Mom leaned it against the right side of the girl's bed.

Now that she was cleaned up, I could finally get a good look at her.

She was really pretty.

She had long golden-brown hair, a slightly tanned skin, and was wearing a sleeveless dark purple shirt that had "LO" in the middle, the _O_ shaped like a heart, and "VE" right below it, spelling "LOVE."

Along with it she wore matching shorts that went below her knees, and purple sandals on her feet.

Man, she really loves the color purple.

"She'll be ok now and should wake up soon," Mom said. "Right now, she needs rest."

"Ok," I replied.

And we left the infirmary.

* * *

The next morning, I went back to the infirmary to see if the girl had waken up yet.

When I got there, I saw that she was still asleep.

Watching her sleep, she looked cute.

My parents told me that we had a cryptid to deal with right now.

"Can we put her in the infirmary on the airship?" I asked. "I don't want her to wake up here alone."

"That's a good idea, Zak," Mom said.

So Dad picked her up, I grabbed her sword, and together we headed toward the airship.

* * *

We were in a rain forest, looking for the flashlight frog.

What is a flashlight frog? I think that's self-explanatory.

Anyway, we found one and we all chased after it.

It apparently knew we were looking for it, and started jumping away.

We launched ourselves at it, but it had really good timing, and dodged our attempts on catching it each time.

Eventually, we all got separated from each other, trying to find the flashlight frog.

I was following really close behind it, it only being a few feet in front of me.

Komodo was more focused on capturing it and eating, while the rest of us were just trying to research it, so we had to keep a close eye on him and make sure that he doesn't get him before we do. But it's hard to do that when he can turn himself invisible.

Komodo was following the frog across a logged bridge over a chasm.

I followed behind him.

But of course, the log was not strong enough to hold my weight, and broke in half.

I started to fall into the chasm, and just barely grabbing onto a ledge with both my hands.

I managed to climb up to the edge.

I almost got over the edge, but the ledge that my foot was on crumbled, and I began to fall back into the chasm.

I tried desperately to get a grip, but I couldn't hold on much longer.

Just as I slipped over the edge, Fiskerton jumped over the chasm, lowered himself down, hanging only by his foot, grabbed the bottom of my foot, pulled me up a little bit to grab the back of my shirt.

I gave him a grateful smile, and he pulled us up the rest of the way.

He placed me on his back, I put my arms around his neck, and we raced off to continue looking for the flashlight frog.

We found it perched on a stump, but when we got close to it, we suddenly tripped.

Komodo was invisible, trying to eat the frog without it noticing.

After we infiltrated his plan, the frog jumped away, but the three of us just kept rolling.

We rolled into some vines, which I think were made to trigger some kind of trap, and we continued rolling down a hill until we landed in a pond at the bottom.

That wasn't fun.

And just to make it worse, there was a large boulder coming down the hill to crush us.

We closed our eyes, bracing ourselves to be smashed flat.

The light behind my eyelids darkened, but I didn't feel any impact.

Once the light came back, I opened one of my eyes and saw that my dad had put himself between the boulder and us, momentarily stopping it.

"So . . ." he said, struggling a little bit to hold back the boulder. "Who wants to tell me . . . what's going on here?"

"Science?" I suggested.

"That's my . . . boy."

He rolled the boulder out of the way.

On the other side of the pond, the flashlight frog hopped past, my mom following behind it with her transmitter.

"Doc," she said. "Got the frog."

We got out of the pond, Fiskerton and Komodo shaking themselves dry, and followed her.

The frog perched itself on top of a rock.

A fly flew near it, so it stuck out its long tongue quickly, caught the fly, sucked back into it's mouth, and ate it, just like regular frogs do.

"Do you think your cryptid-influencing powers can handle this?" Mom asked me.

"A frog?" I asked incredulously.

"Every cryptid is different, Zak. There's still so much we don't know about this . . . thing you can do."

"It's a controlled experiment," Dad said. "He's gotta test the extent of his abilities sooner or later. And I'd rather it happen with his parents right next to him. And it is a frog."

Another fly flew around the frog, and it ate that one too.

Mom brought out the little claw hanging from her belt.

"Remember," she said. "The Hand of Tsul Kalu is just an artifact, a tool to help you focus. You're the one with the power."

I grabbed the Hand and walked halfway to the frog.

"Find your center," Mom said, trying to help, but really isn't. "Let your instinct tell you when to —"

"Mom." I gave her a confident smile. "I got it."

I turned back to the frog, held out the Hand towards it, and activated my powers.

My eyes glowed orange, and so did the Hand.

The frog's eyes glowed orange, too, and I was in control of it.

Behind me, I could hear Komodo slithering his tongue in anticipation.

" _Not food_ ," Mom chided him.

He whimpered, disappointed.

Dad came up next to me.

"The legendary Cameroon flashlight frog," he said. "I'd say we've verified the existence of another cryptid. Nicely done, Zak."

"Oh, you like that, huh?" I gloated. "Zak Saturday working the cryptid powers."

I played with my powers a little bit, having the orange glow on the frog's eyes go away and return. "Frog on. Frog off. Frog on. Frog off."

"Please don't toy with nature," Dad said.

"Frog on."

I was beginning to sweat. Even with something this easy, it takes a lot of power and concentration to keep it up.

"I'd like to measure the lumens on that glow," Dad said. "Think you can keep the connection going, Zak?"

"No problem," I said, hoping that I could.

Dad walked over to the frog and use the transmitter on his wrist to kind of scan over it.

"Now don't push the Hand of Tsul Kalu too hard," Mom said. "Mystical objects are unstable things."

"It's ok, Mom," I assured her. "I'm—"

"Careful with the tongue, Zak," Dad said. "It's saliva is highly toxic."

"Dad, really, I can—"

"Darling, let him focus," Mom said. "He's losing it."

"Mom, I'm fine."

I was definitely not fine. The frog could feel my emotions through our connection, and it wasn't liking it. It was trying to break free.

"Give me three more seconds, Zak," Dad said.

The frog now looked like it was becoming bloated.

"Ok, break it off," Mom said. "Break it—it's too much."

Dad backed away from the frog.

Fisk ran over to me and told me to stop it.

"Guys!" I said. "Really. I got it."

Suddenly, a whole lot of other flashlight frogs appeared around the one I was controlling, and they didn't look happy.

I broke off my connection.

Mom gasped.

The frogs started hopping towards us as a group.

Fisk did the smart thing: he screamed and ran for his life. He's dramatic that way.

The rest of us all followed his lead.

We reached an opening in the forest where our airship was hovering, and ran for it.

There were three ropes hanging from it.

Fisk reached one, grabbed it with one hand, grabbed me by the back of the shirt with the other, grabbed Komodo with both his feet, and up to the airship we went.

My parents grabbed the other two ropes hanging and followed us in, narrowly escaping the frogs.

The panel slid close below our feet.

We were all breathing heavily, trying to catch our breaths.

Well, that was another successful adventure.

After my heartbeat slowed to normal, I went to check on the girl again in the infirmary.

She was still asleep.

I grabbed a chair and sat down next to her, watching her.

Then her eyes started opening slowly. She blinked a few times.

When they were completely open, I saw her dazzling blue eyes, and I gave her a comforting smile.

She was so pretty.

But when she saw me, she screamed.

She sat up quickly and looked around her.

She spotted her sword lying against her bed, unsheathed it with her right hand, and pointed it at me.

"Who are you?" she asked. Then she winced in pain.

I tried to help her, but she grabbed her sword with her left hand and pointed it at me again.

"Stay back," she warned. "Who are you?"

"I'm—" I started to say, but then my parents, Fiskerton, and Komodo walked into room.

"Look who woke up," Mom said.

"You can put your sword away," Dad said to the girl. "We're not going to hurt you."

The girl hesitated a little bit, but she sheathed her sword.

She got off the bed slowly, not taking her eyes off us once, then she tied her scabbard back around her waist, again, not looking away from us.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Mom asked her.

She looked confused, but after a few seconds, she finally answered.

"Umm, Sarah. Sarah Hollinger," she said. "Who are you guys?"

"Were the Saturdays," Dad said. "I'm Solomon, but most of our friends call me Doc. This is my wife, Drew; our son, Zak; and these are our pets, Fiskerton and Komodo."

"You guys have a pet Komodo Dragon and Bigfoot?" Sarah asked. "Aren't they dangerous?"

"Some are, yes," I said. "But they're not deadly. Fisk is the most friendliest gorilla cat you're ever going to meet. And Komodo, well, he's not always friendly, but he's not deadly, either. He can turn invisible, unlike most komodo Dragons."

To prove my point, Komodo turned himself invisible.

Sarah bent down and put her hand out.

I didn't understand why until Komodo reappeared a moment later, Sarah's hand rubbing his head.

How did she know he was there . . . ?

"Cool," Sarah said. She stood. "So, where am I?"

"In our airship," I replied.

She raised an eyebrow. "Ok . . . and how long have I been knocked out?"

"At least a couple days," Mom answered.

Sarah looked confused again. "Huh. My family should have found me by now."

"Sarah, do you remember what happened to you?"

"Umm, yeah," she replied. "Me, my mom, and my brother were looking for this family who's apparently similar to our family, but we didn't know who they were or where to find them. So while we were looking for them, we ran into some enemies of ours, our 'evil-clones', and we got into a battle. We have these powers, but unfortunately my powers haven't activated yet, so I could only fight with my sword. I was battling my evil-clone, Danielle, and she was using her powers, which was kind of unfair since I don't have my powers yet, but she has hers. Anyway, she obviously over-powered me, and lifted me into the air. I tried to slash my sword at her, but I couldn't move. Then she grabbed her own sword and hit me in the head with the hilt of it really hard." She rubbed the bandaged bruise on her head. "I blacked out, and then I woke up here."

"Your family has evil-clones?" I asked.

"Umm, well, only the people in my family who have powers, which are me, my mom, and my brother," Sarah said. "And I guess since you guys don't know who I am, I'll have to explain it. Ok, well, some of my family members have powers that can do almost anything. If you're born with these powers, like me and my brother were, they don't activate at birth, but at a later time in your life. My brother already has his powers, and you'd think that since we're twins they would activate at the same time. But no. It's random for everyone. But if you are given these powers, like my mom was, they activate immediately. These powers can also make us immortal, so we can live forever and can't die at all. The great thing about them is that we can make people and animals who are mortal live like they're immortal. You know, never age or die, and can stay with us forever. But the bad things is is that we all get an evil-clone, with their own names, and they will try to ruin our lives as much as they can."

"So you're immortal," I said. "Does that mean that you're, what, hundreds of years old?"

Sarah laughed, which sounded good. "No. I'm almost eleven years old. But my mom is a hundred years old. You see, if you're a kid with these kind of powers, you will grow in age, but when you turn twenty, you'll look like you're twenty for the rest of your life. And my mom does look like she's in her early 20s, too young to have eleven-year-old twins, though not too young to have a two-month-old baby daughter."

"Cool," I said.

"Sarah, you said that since we didn't know who you were, you would have to explain it to us," Mom said. "I'm assuming that where you're from, everyone knows who and what you are?"

"Well, I live in the United States," Sarah replied. "And my mom is the Protector of America, and she has been for almost sixty years. So, yes, everyone in American knows who and what I am. But it kind of surprised me that you guys didn't know who I was, because you guys look and sound like you're Americans."

"Well, we are," Dad said. "I was born and raised in Louisiana. And we do live near the United States. But, you see, we travel a lot, and we're not always in America."

"Oh, ok."

"Your mom's the Protector of America?" I asked.

"Yeah," Sarah replied. "She stops every kind of crime in every state. Even in territories owned by the U.S. She has this watch that can tell when and where a crime is going to happen before it happens. And when someone's missing, she can always find that person, thanks to the help of her powers, of course. She can also stop a terrorist attack, but too bad she wasn't born before 2001. Well, actually, she was, but she was still a baby. Yeah, my mom's practically invincible. Nobody on earth can defeat her. Or, at least, not people who are mortal can defeat her."

Wow.

Sarah's family sounds really cool.

I really liked her. She's just so pretty.

Why do I keep thinking that way about her?

"Sarah, do you have any way of contacting your family?" Dad asked.

Sarah patted her shoulders, like she was expecting something to be slung over them. "Unfortunately, no. But they'll eventually find me. This isn't exactly the first time I've been separated from them. But do you guys mind if I could stay here for a while? I mean, you all look like a really cool and nice family, and I'd really like to get to know all of you."

"You can stay here as long as you'd like," Mom said.

"Thank you, and thank you also for helping me out."

She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

I'm really going to enjoy her staying with us.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter.**

 **I know my grammar is bad. English has always been my worst subject, as you can clearly see. This story probably lacks serious description, which is because I suck at it, but please don't leave me reviews telling me about it because I already know, and they're unnecessary to me.**

 **This is my first fanfiction, but not my only one. I've been working on it for so long. I started writing this story, like, two years ago, and have finally published it today, on the first day of the new year. I've never been the type to change the original story so much, so I will have this story follow the TV series just before the first episode, which will be tomorrow's chapter, as you may have guessed since the beginning of it was in the middle of this chapter with the flashlight frog. I will post links to every episode the chapter before that particular episode on the blog for the discussion of this story. Since I have typed out this entire story saved on my laptop, I will try and update with a new chapter everyday.**

 **I created a wiki for this story and any future sequels that I am currently writing. If you don't know what a wiki is, it's basically a website where you can also create your own wiki and add information you want to it. My wiki is at whenworldscollide . wikia .com. (without the spaces) There, you can add pages for the characters in this story, add information to them after every chapter, and even talk about them with other users that may also read and like this story like you do. You could also talk with me and my fellow co-admins as well whenever you'd like.**

 **There is a catch on my wiki, though. Most wikis allow you to contribute without the need of making a username. They're called Wikia Contributors, but I don't like them. With my experience with them, they're the most likely to vandalize your wiki with the most stupidest of things, and nobody likes that. Plus, it is so hard to tell them apart from another, because they're all the same name, but their IP addresses are different, which you would have to go to their profiles and see if the numbers are different or not. It's annoying to have to do that. Making a username is so much easier. All you need is to come up with a username, a password, and your email if you have one. And you have to be at least thirteen years of age.**

 **If you join my wiki, please read the Rules on there and heed them, and if you break any of them, you will either be warned for a block or just blocked based on how serious it is.**

 **The Secret Saturdays also have their own wiki, which is at secretsaturdays . wikia .com. (without the spaces) I am attempting to adopt that wiki and became an admin, but I'm still waiting for final confirmation. There is also a wiki for The Secret Saturdays Fanfiction, secretsaturdaysfanfiction . wikia .com. (without the spaces) That one has been dead since before I started contributing to it, but I'm trying to get it active again.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy this story and continue to read it as well as join my wiki. Thanks for reading this long explaination if you did, and please review on here and then check out that wiki. Happy New Year!**


	2. The Kur Stone, Part 1

**Zak's POV.**

After talking to Sarah some more, I learned a few more things about her. She just got out of school for the summer, and her family is just as adventurous as my family was. Except her dad.

I wanted to talk to her some more, but then we heard a beeping sound.

It come from a device on Dad's wrist.

"That's from home," he said.

"Somebody tripped the alarm system?" Mom asked.

"Cool," I said. "A break-in."

"No, don't even think about it. You know the rule: any sign of a fight, you boys stay in the airship."

"Ahh, dane."

So we headed home.

Once we got there, we weren't really surprised to find that it was our enemy Van Rook, along with a new apprentice.

Mom and Dad shot grappling hooks onto the roof and swung into the house.

Then the fight started.

Dad kicked Van Rook's new apprentice across the room as he swung in, then used his power glove against him.

Mom took on Van Rook with her fire sword.

It was so unfair that I couldn't join the fight with my parents, and after a little while, they needed help.

Van Rook's apprentice knocked Dad out with some concussion grenades.

Van Rook got Mom caught in a multivolo, and she fell to the ground, her sword falling out of her grip.

Van Rook's apprentice was about to slice Dad with some kind of mini-power saw on his wrist, and my mom could only watch helplessly from her bonds.

I couldn't stand here and just watch my parents be killed.

I had to help save them.

I looked at Fisk and Komodo, and we had a silent agreement.

We were about to move, but Sarah could tell what we were thinking and stopped us.

"Didn't your parents tell you to stay in the airship?" she asked.

"Yes, but they need our help," I said. "They're getting creamed down there. Plus, you'll learn that I don't always follow my parents rules."

"I believe you." Sarah looked down at my helpless parents with concern. "They do need help. Go."

I thought she was going to come along with us, but she stayed where she was standing.

So me, Fisk, and Komodo went into battle.

I found a grappling hook, shot it onto the roof, and swung myself into the house, while also kicking Vak Rook's sidekick into the wall, like Dad did before.

After I landed, I ran to help Mom and Dad, but just then I felt something hit me in the back, and I went flying.

I crashed against the wall. Hard.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't.

My right arm felt broken.

Then Fiskerton and Komodo got hurt my Van Rook's sidekick, too, being kicked and punched to the floor.

Man, this guy was good.

Then he took out his mini-power saw, and came toward me.

I thought this was the end.

But just then, Sarah came into the room with her sword in hand, and slashed the mini-power saw away from me.

She winced a little bit, but she ignored her injury.

She kicked Van Rook's sidekick in the chest, knocking him to the ground, and stood on top of him.

I noticed Van Rook coming up from behind her.

"Sarah, look out!" I shouted.

Sarah jumped into the air and did a backflip.

Now she was behind Van Rook, and she slashed her sword at him.

Van Rook yelled in pain, and fell to his knees.

I saw blood dripping down his back.

Ouch. That's gotta leave a mark.

"I'm not getting beaten by a kid," Van Rook's sidekick said while getting up from the floor.

"Don't judge me just because I'm a kid," Sarah said.

Then she slashed at him with her sword, but he dodged it.

He tried to grab Sarah, but she was fast.

She dodged him, then hit his mask with the hilt of her sword, knocking him unconscious.

Van Rook ran to his aid.

Sarah pointed her sword at him. "If you want to live, leave this house right now."

Van Rook grunted angrily.

He crossed his right arm over his chest. There was a bight flash of light, and he and his apprentice was gone.

Sarah went over to my mom and cut the ropes from around her. Then she sheathed her sword and helped her up.

Mom went to help Dad, Fiskerton, and Komodo, and Sarah came to help me.

"Zak, are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok," I said.

Sarah looked at my arm. It hurt when she touched it.

"Your arm looks pretty bad," she said, which was kind of obvious. "I've got something that can help."

She grabbed her scabbard and pressed a button on the side of it.

A small panel slide aside, revealing a little opening with something white slightly sticking out of it.

Sarah grabbed the white thing, which happened to be a wipe and a cloth, and bandaged my arm.

"That should heal quickly," Sarah said.

"Thanks," I said. "How were you able to fight those guys? And how does your scabbard practically have its own first-aid kit?"

"I'll tell you later," she said.

She grabbed my hand and helped me up.

Then she turned to the rest of my family. "Are all of you guys ok?"

"We're fine," Mom said. "Thank you for saving us."

"You're welcome. You guys helped me out, so I should return the favor."

My parents smiled. Then they looked at me, and they frowned, looking mad.  
Great.

"What?" I said. "You knew I wasn't going to stay in the airship."

* * *

We started to clean up everything that Van Rook and his apprentice destroyed in our house, which was a lot.

"So any idea what Van Rook and his new side kick were after?" I asked. "Pretty bold to attack us at home, don't you think? Gotta be something big."

"Don't try to change the subject," Mom said. "You're still in trouble here."

"I'm just trying to be part of the team."

"You're not our partner, Zak. You're our son. And I don't think bringing you into a fist fight with mercenaries is gonna win us any Parent of the Year awards."

"Dad, come on," I said. "Talk to her. You're the one who told me to test my abilities."

"Well, that's true," he admitted.

Mom turned around and glared at him.

"But I'm one-hundred-percent with your mother on this one."

We heard Sarah laugh, and we turned to look at her.

She blushed and stopped laughing. Then turned away.

"There's a clear line between adventure and danger," Dad continued, "and we're trying to keep you on the safe side of that line."

"Look, I'm not saying I wanna go looking for trouble," I said. "I just think I'm ready to do what you guys do. You know, fight the bad guys, save the world."

"You know you're eleven," Mom said incredulously.

Then we heard a beeping sound from another room.

We were getting a video call.

"We'll talk later," Dad said, and he went to answer the call.

But Mom was confused. "Wha-wait. Talk about what? Talk about—he's eleven!"

We all went to see who was calling.

* * *

"Doc, answer," Dad said.

The screen showed a woman. It was Dr. Miranda Grey.

"Oh, thank heaven you're all ok," she said.

"Miranda, what happened?" Mom asked her.

"Argost's beastly student, that's what. Paid me a visit."

"Are you all right?" Dad asked.

"No, I'm not _all right_. He took my piece of the stone."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Stone?" I asked, looking at Fisk.

He shook his head, notifying that he didn't know either.

"Van Rook," Mom said.

"That must have been what he came for," Dad said.

"You too?" Dr. Grey asked. "Did he get anything?"

"No, no, no. Ours is all right," Mom said. "But Henry?"

"I've been trying to reach him. Nothing."

"Let me pull up satellite coverage on his observatory," Dad said, pushing some buttons on the controller on his wrist.

Dr. Grey's video call on the screen moved to the left side of it, and a screen popped up with a list of recordings on the right, all of them episodes of one show.

"Zak," Dad said, not sounding happy. "Why do we have nineteen recorded episodes V.V. Argost's Weird World?"

"Uh, research?" I said sheepishly. "Know thy enemy?"

I picked up a remote and played one of the episodes.

It showed what looked like a prison under a volcano.

Argost's minion Munya was holding a platter with meat on it, a few knives struck into some, and a whip lying next to them.

In the prison cells on his right, there were a lot of monsters sticking their claws and tentacles out to try and get a piece of meat.

"Forgive me, children," Argost's voice said in the background. "My little pets get so excited when I have visitors here at Weird World."

Argost appeared on the screen, walked up to Munya, grabbed the whip from the platter, and whipped it towards one of the cells.

Mom grabbed the remote from me and turned it off.

"Uh-huh," she said. "It's saved under favorites."

I turned from her and crossed my arms over my chest. "Well, maybe research is my favorite."

Sarah laughed as if this was all funny to her.

I turned and glared at her.

She stopped laughing, but kept her smile on her face.

She had a pretty smile. So pretty that I knew I couldn't stay mad at her for laughing at me.

Dad removed the playlist screen.

He pressed a few buttons on a controller on his wrist, and a holographic image of a globe appeared.

"No satellites in the area right now," Dad confirmed.

The holographic image disappeared.

"We'll check it out in person, Miranda," Mom said.

"Be careful," she replied.

"Hey, it's us," I said.

"You're taking him along with you?" Dr. Grey asked.

"No," Mom said. "I did not say—"

I interrupted by pressing a button to my left and ended the video call.

"Sorry, Dr. Grey, gotta go," I said.

I ran to the door, going under Fisk while doing so. "Come on, people. Action time."

"Action time," Fisk agreed.

We all went to the airship, got aboard, and are on our way to Dr. Cheveyo's laboratory.

"You guys are doctors?" Sarah asked.

"Scientists," Mom corrected.

Sarah's eyes widened. She looked nervous. "Scientists?"

"Yes. Is something wrong?"

"Oh. Um, no. Nothing's wrong."

That was an obvious lie, by no one questioned her more about it.

Sarah sat down next to me for the entire flight.

Once we got to the laboratory, Dad landed the airship, and we all got out.

Dr. Cheveyo was waiting for us.

I looked around.

The whole place was in rubble. There were some spots still smoldering from being set on fire.

"Nasty," I said.

"Sorry I didn't tidy up," Dr. Cheveyo said. "Didn't know I'd be having company."

"Looks like you got the worst of it," Dad said. "Who was it?"

"Argost himself."

I had picked up a piece of debris and was examining it, but my eyes widened when I heard that.

"Argost was here?" I asked.

"Yes, and he blew up my lab," Dr. Cheveyo said. "How cool for me."

"Right. Bad guy . . . I hear he puts on a great new TV show though."

"Apparently, my son has been doing a lot of Weird World . . . research," Dad said.

"Well, if your research finds away to get my stone piece back from Argost," Dr. Cheveyo said.

"He got it?" Mom asked.

"Then it's starting again," Dad said.

I was getting crazy, and a little annoyed.

I really wanted to know what the hell they were talking about.

"Ok, guys, seriously, with the mystery," I said. "Do I get to know what's going on here? What's starting again? What stone pieces?"

Mom and Dad looked at each other, and seemed to come to some kind of silent agreement.

"The Kur Stone," Mom explained. "Key to finding the ancient Sumerian beast called Kur. According to the legend, whoever controls the cryptid Kur, controls the world. Ultimate, limitless power. Kur can give it to you, and only the stone can lead you to Kur."

"Your mother and I lead the team that discovered the stone," Dad said. "At first, we didn't even know what we had. But somebody else did."

"Argost disguised himself as a member of our crew, and by the time we found out, he was already gone, _with_ the Kur Stone."

"The Secret Scientists tracked him down to Weird World. We went in with a team of fifty. By the time we left that house of horrors, there were only seven of us."

"Argost escaped. But we got the stone. And now that we knew what it was, we decided this was one secret that needed to _stay_ secret. Even from ourselves."

"We split it into three pieces, each left in the care of a different secret scientist. As long as we kept them apart, the key to finding Kur was safe."

"But you _didn't_ keep them apart," I said. "Argost just got two of the pieces, right? And you guys have the only one that's left?"

"Yes, but—"

"Then why are we sitting around here? We have to get back home before Argost does."

"Zak. Zak, relax. Our piece isn't at home," Mom said. "We found a hiding place in the Amazon River Basin years ago."

"What?" Dr. Cheveyo asked, sounding surprised. "You've left it unguarded all these years?"

"Give us some credit, Henry. I did not say it was unguarded."

"No, he's right, Mom," I said. "Argost knew where to find two of the pieces. How do you know he didn't already find the third? Why did Dad build the superfast airship if we're not going to use it? We should go now! Back me up, Fisk."

I looked at him for support.

He seemed too confused to do so.

"Zak, even if Argost knew where to look," Dad started, but Dr. Cheveyo interrupted.

"No," he said. "We have to go get it, find some other way of keeping it safe."

"It _is_ safe," Mom assured him. "And I really don't think you're in the best shape for a trip to Mannose, Henry."

"This isn't just your decision. This whole world is effected by—"

"Komodo!" I called.

He had been chasing some kind of beetle, following it onto a rock right next to Dr. Cheveyo. The beetle flew towards him, and Komodo jumped on him, knocking him to the ground.

"No," I said. "Bad dragon."

"Bad boy."

"Get down."

"Come here, Komodo," Sarah said.

Surprisingly, Komodo got off Dr. Cheveyo and went to her.

She started to rub his head.

I looked down at Dr. Cheveyo, still lying on his stomach, and noticed some kind of bug on the back of his neck.

"Uh, Mom?" I asked, pointing at it. "What's . . . uh—"

"What is that?" Sarah asked, finishing my question.

"It's a neural parasite," Mom said.

"It feeds on impulses from the nervous system," Dad explained. "Converting them to radiant energy waves. Everything Henry sees and hears is being broadcast to anyone who knows how to tune in. He's listening right now, isn't he, Henry? Argost."

He lifted himself to his knees. "I—I'm sorry."

"He heard everything," Mom said.

"I just couldn't fight him again. I'm sorry. I—I'm sorry I can't—"

He screamed in pain.

"Henry!" Dad called.

Suddenly, Dr. Cheveyo stood up. He arched his back, and kind of crinkled his hands.

"Greetings and bienvenue, Saturdays," he said, but it wasn't his voice.

He laughed his evil laugh.

My eyes widened.

"Tha—that's . . ." I started, but couldn't finished.

"No. No, this is impossible," Mom insisted. "The parasite doesn't transmit both ways."

"Impossible?" Argost said. "Only one with a tragic lack of imagination would use such a volger word. We deal with cryptids, my dear. We live in the world of impossible."

"Where are you, Argost?" Dad asked.

"Eleven years you've kept my prize from me," he said. "Eleven years of tracking down each of you miserable so called scientists, and pieces of the Kur Stone. Eleven years of planning this operation to perfection."

"Yeah, I wouldn't call two of three pieces "perfection"," Mom said.

"We'll see about that in Mannose, won't we?"

Fiskerton growled.

He was about to attack Argost, but I stopped him.

"Fisk, no," I said. "Dr. Cheveyo's still in there somewhere. We can't hurt him."

"Sweet, little, boy," Argost said. "I've waited eleven years for this. What makes you think I'd let anyone else do the hurting?"

The bug that Komodo continued chasing suddenly opened its rear end and sprayed a lot of green smoke around all of us.

"The Al-Kaseem Firecracker Beetle," Argost explained. "Nature gave it a highly-flammable repensive spray."

Suddenly, more of those beetles appeared and began to spray us more.

"All to activate it," Argost continued, "is a spark."

He kicked a piece of wood that flew over our heads and hit a rock behind us. I saw one spark.

"Heads up!" I shouted.

There was a huge explosion all around us.

The blast blew Dr. Cheveyo backward.

He hit a boulder, and fell to the ground unconscious.

The beetles came toward us.

We fought them all away, Fisk picking them up and kicking them away; Komodo using his tail to swipe them; Dad using his power glove to freeze them; Mom using her fire sword; and Sarah using her regular sword.

Dad went to help Dr. Cheveyo up from the ground.

He was rubbing his head.

"No," he said in his own voice. "He promised he wouldn't hurt you."

"And you believed him?" Sarah asked incredulously.

All of the beetles gathered around, fusing together into one huge ball about fifty feet tall.

It ran toward us.

"Run," Dad said.

But Dr. Cheveyo ran toward the ball to intercept it.

He picked up a big plank of metal and prepared to use it to block the firecracker beetles' ball.

"Go," he said. "You have to stop Argost."

The beetles ball hit the metal, and there was another huge explosion, even bigger than the one before.

It knocked us all over the edge, and we were thousands of feet above the ground below.

An idea came to mind.

I grabbed some rope from my pocket.

"Here's the plan," I shouted. "I'll tie the tether line. We've got one chance to get this right . . ."

Suddenly, I landed on something hard.

I was able to sit up, and found that I was flying on top of a red dragon with a fire burning on the tip of its tail.

Where did it come from?

Then I realized that I wasn't the only one riding it.

Sarah was sitting near the front of the dragon, holding on to a collar that it had on its neck, and she seemed to be guiding it.

The dragon grabbed Komodo with its claws.

I noticed Mom and Dad riding on another red-and-white, I guess, dragon too, even though it didn't quite look like one.

It grabbed Fiskerton by its claws too.

What were they?

They flew us back to the top, and we landed back on the ground.

Sarah had two red-and-white balls in her hand.

Did she have these with her the whole time?

"Thank you two for helping us," she said to the dragons. "Return."

All of a sudden, the dragons glowed red and were virtually transported into one ball. The balls shrunk to the size of nuts, and Sarah put them in her pocket.

"What were those?" I asked. "And how did you do that?"

"You don't know Pokémon?" Sarah asked, looking confused.

"What?"

"Never mind. I'll explain later."

I didn't want to wait until later, but I didn't really have a choice. We were in a hurry.

We found Dr. Cheveyo passed out, so we picked him up, and we all went to the airship.

We took Dr. Cheveyo to another secret scientist, Dr. Odele, and we were currently talking to him on the video phone.

"How is he, Odele," Dad asked him.

"Henry took the worst of that blast," he said. "But he'll be ok. Argost must be on his way to Mannose already."

"He can't be allowed to get that last piece of the Kur Stone."

"It's going to be dangerous. Why don't you leave Zak with me until you get back?"

I didn't like to hear that.

"Wait," I said in disbelief. "What? We get the biggest mission of my life, and you're leaving me with Odele?"

"Zak—" Dad started, but I interrupted.

"Is this still about the Congolese Giant Spider Stampede?" I asked. "I told you that was an accident. Fiskerton dared me to throw a rock at the web."

Fisk protested about that: _What? No, I didn't!_

He crossed his arms over his chest.

Sarah laughed. "What?"

I ignored them.

"Come on," I said. "What was I supposed to—"

"Zak," Dad interrupted. "You're coming."

Mom and I stared at him. "Wait. Really?"

"I don't like the idea either, Drew," he said. "But we might need him."

"No, no," Mom argued. "I'll handle Argost myself if I have to."

"It's not Argost I'm worried about."

Mom seemed to understand.

I looked back and forth between them, but I couldn't understand.

"Ok," I said. "Whatever's going on, I'm sounding really important in it. Tell me more."

We went to the back of the airship, and Dad showed me a holographic image of Brazil.

"Mannose, Brazil," Dad said. "The heart of the Amazon Rain Forest. The last Kur Stone piece is buried here."

"It's a watering hole for the Tapire-laura," Mom explained. "One of the most dangerous cryptids in South America. Amphibious, predatory, fearless. They are why we chose this hiding spot. Nature's security system."

"We watched that river bank for weeks, just to get a safe five minute window to burry the stone. If we can't stop Argost before he gets there, we'll need to hold off those cryptids long enough to retrieve the stone piece."

"You need my powers." I thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. I can do that."

 _And me?_ Fisk asked.

"Don't worry about it, Fisk," I assured him. "I'm sure you're important in this plan too."

Mom looked at Dad.

"Ab-so-lutely," she said, though she didn't sound sure with that answer.

But it was enough to convince Fisk and he took it as a yes.

I did too.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter.**

 **First, since this is my first fanfiction, I don't know too much on how to do it. My main problem right now is the reviews. It says I have two reviews, but I can't find them. I don't know why they're not showing up. I found one of them, but I'm not sure if I approved it or accidentally deleted it. Could someone help me with that?**

 **Second, Quiz Time!**

 **Every once in a while, I'm going to do these quizzes at the end of a chapter for my readers to guess who or what something is. Here's the quiz for this chapter:**

 _Sarah summoned two of her Pokémon to save herself and the Saturdays from falling of the cliff. What were those two Pokémon?_

 **You guys can guess as many times as you want in your review, and I'll give you the answer at the end of the next chapter.**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	3. The Kur Stone, Part 2

**Zak's POV.**

Me, my family, and Sarah are on our way to Mannose, Brazil to stop Argost from getting the last piece of the Kur Stone.

On the way there, Dad was telling me that the reason he and Mom are bringing me along is because there's these cryptids called Tapire-laura, one of the most dangerous cryptids in South America, and my parents need to me distract them with my powers long enough for them to get the stone.

"I'm hoping we won't even need your special abilities, Zak," Dad said.

"But, of course, you will," Sarah said.

"How do you know that?" I asked her.

"Because it's obvious. When you say something like 'I'm hoping we won't even need your special abilities,' you _always_ need your special abilities. It's just typical."

"And just in case we do," Dad continued, "I've been working on something to help you use them."

He went to the weapons closet, put his hand on the touch pad next to it, and the doors slid open.

He pulled out a two-foot-long stick with what look like the head of some kind of bird on the bottom.

I was confused.

"It's, uh, stick," I said. "That's really, uh . . . what's it suppose to do?"

"Let's go find out." Dad placed the Hand of Tsul 'Kalu on top of the stick, then gave it to me, and showed me how to use it.

We went to a different room on the airship that was larger.

Dad moved about twenty feet away from me and made a _come at me_ hand gesture toward me.

I knew what to do.

I spun the stick over my head a few times, pressed a button on the side of it, and slingshot the Hand of Tsul 'Kalu at Dad with a tough cord tied to it.

Dad grabbed it with his hand.

"Huh," I said. "Zak like."

Dad pulled the cord, and it lifted me off the ground.

I flew toward him, landing behind him.

The cord retracted back into the stick.

I ran toward Dad, fighting him with it.

He was dodging my attacks one after the other while also explaining what the stick can do.

"Unloading cable, grappling hook, vaulting and retrieving functionality," he said. "I've been calling it the multi-function-adaptive-combat-defensive-enhancement. A mouthful, yes. But maybe you can give it an acronym name, like . . . 'Mfacdi.'"

I thought of a better name.

"Or the Claw," I said.

"That sounds better," Sarah agreed.

I'm glad she agreed.

"With the Hand of Tsul 'Kalu on the end, it should still help you focus your cryptid influencing powers," Dad said.

I noticed Komodo sleeping a few feet away from us.

I focused on him and activated my powers, my eyes glowing orange, and Komodo's too when he woke up.

I used my powers to lead Komodo over to Dad through telepathy, and he jumped on him, knocking him to the ground.

"Very good, son," Dad said.

I deactivated my powers.

Komodo got off of Dad, looking pretty mad.

"Sorry, Komodo," I told him. "It was for science."

"No animal likes to be used for science," Sarah said.

She held out her arms to Komodo, and he went to her.

I still didn't understand why he grew a liking to her so quickly.

Dad got up from the floor.

"Now, this doesn't change the family rules," he said. "The minute there's any sign of a fight, your mother and I take over."

"Are you saying Argost is tougher than Doc Saturday?" I asked challengingly. "Because I seem to be doing ok against you."

"Oh, really?" Dad asked incredulously.

To prove it, I slingshot my new claw toward him.

He caught it with both his hands, which is what I was hoping for.

"Who's still the big dog?" he asked.

I pressed the button on the side of the claw to retract the cord while Dad was still holding it, and I jumped over him, landed behind him, and kicked him in the back, knocking him again to the ground.

"I believe Zak is the new big dog," Sarah said, laughing.

"Woof," I said.

Dad got up from the floor. "You're still not fighting Argost."

That surprised me.

"Are you kidding?" I said. "That was—"

I was interrupted by an explosion, and the airship pitched to the side, then became level again.

Alarms started to blare.

Me, Dad, Komodo, and Sarah ran to the control room to find out what was happening.

We found Mom at the controls.

"Zak, Sarah, strap in. Doc, weapons." she said. "We found him."

I looked outside and saw Argost's war plane fly by, then he shot three missiles toward us.

"Grab something," Mom said.

She made a hard left turn.

I grabbed the rail in front of me.

Sarah almost fell to the ground, but I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her next to me.

She grabbed the rail. "Thanks."

"No problem," I told her.

After Mom did that sharp turn, she did another one, and the missiles exploded together.

Argost's war plane was no where to be seen.

"Where'd he go?" Mom asked. "Doc!"

"I'm looking," he said.

He had on a helmet that had a special way of looking for things.

After a few seconds, he said, "Behind us."

Argost shot more missiles toward us, and Mom was having a hard time dodging them.

"I can't get rid of 'em," she said. "Unless somebody calls in a miracle, we're—we're losing this dog fight."

I didn't want that to happen.

I came up with a plan. A stupid plan, but a plan nonetheless.

I ran to the back of the airship.

"Fisk?" I called.

He walked out of a small sound proof room built into the wall.

The airship shook again from another explosion, and Fisk whimpered.

"Nothing to worry about, buddy," I assured him. "I've got an idea."

I told him a small part of my plan, because I knew that if I told him all of it, he wouldn't do it.

Fisk got some head gear, I climbed onto his back, and we climbed onto the right wing of the airship.

Fisk let me off his back gently, and we held on to the edge of the wing.

"You throw me toward Argost's war plane," I told him. "Me and the claw will do the rest."

Fisk looked shocked. _That plan isn't going to work_.

"What?" I asked. "How do you know it's not gonna work?"

Argost was shooting more missiles at us, and I almost fell off the wing, but luckily Fisk grabbed me and held on to me.

But he still wasn't going to throw me.

"You owe me," I reminded him. "Remember Fiji? You'd still be cursed if it wasn't for me."

Fisk protested and crossed his arms.

Suddenly the wing tipped over to the left, and we fell back inside.

I heard a big explosion, and the airship crashed to the ground.

Me and Fisk climbed outside through a hole and found Mom, Dad, Sarah, and Komodo ten feet away.

"Boys!" Dad said.

"Zak," Mom said.

They ran toward us.

"Mom, Dad," I called.

I ran to meet them, and embraced my mom in a hug.

Then she pushed me back, holding my shoulders at arms length. She didn't look happy.

"What were you thinking?" she asked. "Are you legally insane? Never— _ever_ —do that again."

"I had it handled," I told her. "You turned that plane on purpose, didn't you?"

"I can't believe you'd try a stunt that stupid."

"I can't believe you messed up my stupid stunt."

We heard Sarah laughing and turned to look at her.

She stopped laughing and became interested of her feet.

I turned back to my parents.

"Why do you guys always have to be the heroes? I got what it takes if you'd just give me a chance to prove it."

I turned away from them and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Drew," Dad said. "Why don't you see what supplies we can salvage? I'll take this one. Father-son bonding time."

He walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Do we have to?" I asked.

I looked him in the eyes, and I knew we did.

We went a little farther into the woods.

We found a couple logs, so I sat down on one, and Dad sat on the other across from me.

I started the conversation.

"I'm not a little kid anymore, Dad," I said. "I can handle myself in a fight."

Dad sighed. "Do you ever wonder why you have the powers you do? That gift with cryptids?"

"Sometimes," I admitted.

"Your mother has a theory. In every ancient legend, there's a balance. Or in terms I'm more comfortable with, for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. Your mother and I brought the potential for great evil to the world eleven years ago. But that was also the year you were born."

"I—I don't understand."

"We told you Kur is the key to unlimited power, but we didn't tell you how. If Argost can find and control Kur, he'll have the power to raise an entire army of cryptids. What kind of power could stand against a man with an army of cryptids at his disposal?"

I felt like I knew the answer.

"M-Mine?" I asked.

Dad put his hand on my shoulder again. "Equal and opposite. Forces balanced. Zak, we're afraid that if this Kur madness gets out into the world, you may be the only one who can stop it. And that's an awful lot of pressure to put on an eleven-year-old boy."

"So, I should just let you guys know when I'm ready to save the world?" I asked.

"Like I said, it's only a theory." Dad tousled my hair. "Try to keep your ego in check for now."

All right. I understand now. And even I have to admit that it _is_ a lot of pressure. But that still doesn't mean I have to like it.

"Doc!" Mom called. "I think you're gonna wanna see this."

We ran back to our crash sight.

When we got there, we found some kind of prehistoric bird descending from the sky, and it looked mad.

It landed on the ground, and walked toward my family in a threatening way.

"Now may be a good time to test that new equipment," Dad suggested.

I grabbed the claw hanging from my belt, held the claw end toward the cryptid, and activated my powers.

Unfortunately, the bird noticed and came at me before I even got a chance to get it under control.

It knocked the claw out of my hand with its beak.

I tried to run from it, but the bird took flight and picked me up by the back of my shirt with its beak, lifting me into the air with it.

"Zak!" Mom called.

She ran and jumped, grabbing onto the bird's foot with both her hands, but the bird shook her off, and she fell.

Luckily, Dad caught her before she hit the ground.

But the bird still had me, and was flying me deeper into the woods.

I had to think of something to get away quick.

Then I heard my mom unsheathe her fire sword.

"Give me back my baby boy," I heard her say.

It's really embarrassing when she calls me her "baby boy."

Anyway, she shot a fire ball from her sword.

It hit the bird directly in the back, and it dropped me.

I fell into a tree, hit a couple branches, and landed on my back pretty hard. But surprisingly, I only had a few scratches.

I stood up from the ground.

"Zak, are you ok?" Sarah called.

"Yeah," I called back, brushing myself off.

Sarah appeared across the way behind a few trees.

"Where's the bird?" I asked.

"Your parents and your pets are dealing with it," she said.

I noticed she had the claw in her right hand.

She noticed me looking at it, and handed it back to me. "Here. I grabbed this for you."

For some reason, I was skeptical of that, but I took it. "Thanks."

"We should probably go back and help your parents," she said.

"Yeah."

We ran back to where we last saw them.

When we got there, both of my parents, Fiskerton, and Komodo were tied up in vines against a large tree.

The bird was about to eat Dad's head.

I raised my claw and activated my powers.

The bird's eyes glowed orange.

I mentally told it to leave my family alone. It seemed to be so much easier this time.

She backed away from them.

Sarah and I walked over to my family.

"Hey," I said. "This thing works great."

"I'm so glad," Dad said, choking through the vine wrapped around his throat. "Would you mind—" He was cut short when the vines wrapped around his mouth.

Sarah unsheathed her sword and sliced the vines away. Then she put it back in its scabbard.

I went over to the bird, sitting only a few feet away, and I started petting her, while Dad was scanning her with his transmitter.

Sarah came over and petted her too.

"Hey, there," I said to the bird. "Who's a good birdie?"

She cooed, obviously liking it.

"I don't see anything like it in any of the cryptid zoology data bases," Dad said. "It looks like some hold out from the prehistoric era."

"Cool," Sarah said. "I really love animals. Every time I see one, I just have to pet it."

"Do you have any of your own pets at home?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yes. Eight, in fact."

"That's a lot of pets."

"I know. But they're all really friendly when they don't find you threatening, and most of them are related."

"Cool."

We continued to pet the bird, but Mom didn't like it.

"Zak, stop petting it," she said. "That thing tried to eat your father's head."

"She was just defending herself, Mom," I said. "Look."

I pointed over to the bird's nest ten feet away, next to the airship, that was completely destroyed.

"We went right through her nest when we crashed," I said defensively. "Could you blame her for thinking we were the enemy? Poor girl."

"Most animals are highly territorial," Sarah said.

We petted the bird comfortingly, and she cooed again.

Then we heard what sounded like an engine.

The bird spread her wings and flew away.

"Hey, wait!" I called after her, but she was gone.

Argost's war plane flew over us, heading farther into the forest.

"Let's go," Dad said. "We've got a piece of stone to recover."

We ventured into the rain forest.

Sarah was walking beside me with her sword in hand.

I wondered something.

"Why were you laughing earlier?" I asked her.

"Because it was funny," she replied with a smile.

"What was so funny about it?"

"Well, your mom said that she couldn't believe you'd pull a stunt that stupid. You agreed, and yet, you still did it." She laughed at the memory of it.

"It wasn't funny," I said defensively.

"Yes, it was."

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was."

I had a feeling this was going to go on for a while, so I decided to change the subject.

"That sword of yours," I said. "Where did you get it?"

"From my mom," Sarah answered, as if it was obvious.

"Where did she get the sword?"

"Umm, I'm not sure. But she's had it a long time."

"Ok. Why do you use it?"

"Well, when my brother and I were five years old, our mom told us that we needed to learn how to use a weapon. The earlier we started learning, the better. She gave us a few suggestions, had us choose one, and we both chose a sword."

"Why did you need to learn how to use a weapon?"

"Because of our evil-clones. They'll start attacking us by the time we're six, and we need to learn how to fight if we don't want to be beaten up."

"Well, you're really good with that sword," I said.

"Thanks," Sarah said. "Every single day, me and my brother sword fight. Half the time, I win, the other half, he wins. And by the way, you and him have the same first name."

"Zak?" I asked.

"Yeah. But his name is spelled Z-A-C-K. How's your name spelt?"

"Z-A-K."

Sarah nodded.

"Umm, when my parents told you they were scientists, why did you look scared?" I asked her.

She hesitated. "Well, when my mom became Protector of America, the government captured her, hiring scientists to do it. But by doing so, my mom wouldn't have survived the . . . what? Experiment? I can't remember what they called it, but ever since then, my mom has stayed away from the government and scientists as much as she can. She told me and my brother about that, and that we should stay away from them too."

"Wow. But not all scientists are like that."

"I know. But you could never be too sure about one you just met."

"True."

Sarah was silent for a few minutes.

"Umm, can I ask you a question?" she said hesitantly.

"You just did," I teased.

She glared at me. "Ok. Can I ask you _another_ question?"

"You just did." I chuckled.

Sarah was getting really agitated.

She lifted her sword and pointed it at me, only an inch away from my chest.

My family watched with concern.

"Will you stop it?" Sarah said.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry," I quickly apologized, my heart beating fast. "But now you know how I feel."

She narrowed her eyes, then sighed. "I guess so."

She lowered her sword.

"Do you always do that when someone makes a joke you don't like?" I asked.

"No," she said. "Only when someone makes an offensive or rude joke. That's when I bring out my sword. And besides, you shouldn't say those kind of jokes to someone holding a weapon. Even my friends know that."

"Well, you shouldn't do that to me since I also have a weapon. My parents do, too. And you've already seen how protective they are of me."

"Zak, you just got your weapon."

"So what? My parents have had their weapons a long time and their very good with them."

"That may be true. But I can defeat you and your parents without any help at all."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"How so?"

"Because my mom trained me on how to defeat someone twice my size and being outnumber. I mean, you saw me defeat those two mercenaries earlier, didn't you? And, as I recall, you and your family got beat by them. That's how I know your parents are gonna be easy to defeat. No offense."

"We did injure them," I said defensively.

"Barely even a little bit," Sarah said.

"Well, you didn't mention Fiskerton and Komodo. I'm pretty sure they'll help us. They're really tough."

Sarah laughed. "They're not gonna hurt me."

"How do you know they won't?"

"I'll prove it."

She turned toward Komodo. "Komodo, would you attack Zak, please?"

"He's not gonna—" I started, but I was wrong.

Komodo jumped on me, knocking me to the ground with him on top of me.

Sarah smirked.

I was completely stunned.

"How did you do that?" I asked her, while pushing Komodo off of me and standing up.

"I was born with this aura that effects animals, and once an animal feels it, they'll feel protected of me, and do whatever I ask."

"So if I attack you, Fisk and Komodo will stop me?"

"Probably. Unless I tell them not to intervene. And I still think I can beat you and your parents."

"Really? My family fights enemies all the time. We have tons of fighting experience."

"So does my family. And I'm positive that my family's enemies are a lot tougher than yours."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. There's just no way you can beat me and my family."

"I love how confident you are about that, but no matter how confident you are, I can still beat you all."

"Oh, you wanna bet?" I challenged.

"Hell yeah. I'll be done with you in ten seconds. Your parents will take a little longer, but not too much."

I was about to say something more, but Mom stopped me.

"Guys, stop," she said. "It doesn't matter whose family has more fighting experience, or whose enemies are tougher." She turned toward me. "And Zak, you were being rude with that joke. She just wanted to ask you a question. And Sarah, you don't always have to threaten someone with your sword just because that person's being rude."

Sarah and I looked at each other, and sighed. "Fine."

But neither of us apologized.

Sarah turned away from me and started walking ahead of us.

I turned to Mom. "Do you really think she can beat you, me, and Dad together?"

"I don't know," she said. "But I don't think Sarah would keep saying that she can unless she was absolutely positive. She did defeat Van Rook and his new apprentice."

"I know. But we were just taken off guard. We didn't know what Van Rook's new sidekick could do."

"Right," Mom said. "But Sarah is obviously very skilled at that. Her mother seems to have taught her well."

"Yeah," I agreed.

We followed Sarah, making sure we didn't get separated from her.

She seemed to know where she was going, but my parents were the only ones who knew where they hid the last Kur Stone piece. Every once in a while, she'd turn around to make sure we were still behind her.

Nobody said anything the rest of the way.

I kept replaying mine and Sarah's argument in my head.

I guess I was being rude, but I was just kidding around.

She didn't have to threaten me with her sword like that. She could have just told me to shut up and ask me her question. I wonder what it was, anyway.

After a little while longer, we finally found the watering hole.

"This is it," Mom said.

Dad turned toward me. "Zak?"

I understood.

"Doin' my thing," I said.

I grabbed the claw from my belt and activated my powers.

I didn't sense any cryptids nearby.

"No Tapire-laura," Dad said. "We're in luck."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Mom said.

She walked toward the water, followed by Fisk and Komodo.

They stopped a few feet from the water and started to dig in the dirt.

After a few moments, Mom picked up a cloth-covered thing, unwrapped it, and sighed in relief.

"It's still here," she said.

"Wrap it back up," Dad said. "We've pushed our luck here long enough. Let's get—"

We heard a plane's engine again, and Argost's war plane descended above us.

"They followed us," I said, which was obvious.

"Drew, go!" Dad said. "Save the stone."

Mom tried to leave, but it was too late.

Argost jumped from his plane, laughing his evil laugh, opened up his cloak to unleash a lot of weird looking long bugs on all of us.

A few clamped onto my skin with their teeth, and I immediately felt like I was lifting a hundred pounds.

My family and Sarah seemed to feel the same way, some of the bugs on them as well.

Argost landed on a branch in a tree nearby.

"No more secrets, Saturdays," he said. "You can't keep me from what I was meant to have."

The bugs felt like they were sucking my blood, which they probably were.

My eyelids were feeling heavy, but I forced them to stay open.

I was afraid that if they closed, they might never open ever again.

"Oooo. I'm going to find Kur," Argost continued. "I only wish you could live long enough to see your own precious cryptids turn against you. But sadly, A Salamo."

Dad, Fisk, Komodo, and Sarah fought to stay awake, but they just couldn't.

I tried to grab for the claw, but I then I heard Mom collapse on the ground.

I turned and walked over to her. "Mom."

I knelt beside her, putting my hand on her back.

"Zak—" she tried, but passed out.

The stone piece was a few inches away.

Despite how weak I felt, I stood up, grabbed the stone piece, and tried to walk back to the airship.

But Argost stopped me.

"Stay . . . back," I said weakly.

With every step I took, these bugs felt like they were sucking my blood even harder.

"They're called Devonian Annelids," Argost explained. "Filthy little brutes, but they do so love the taste of human essence."

Argost started walking toward me.

I tried to walk the other way, but Argost's assistant stopped me.

My head felt dizzy, and my eyesight was becoming blurry.

I dropped the stone piece out of my hand.

"No!" I said.

I tried to pick it back up again, but I collapsed onto the ground, no longer able to hold my own weight.

Argost's assistant picked up the stone, and he and Argost started walking away.

"Sweet dreams, little Saturday," Argost told me.

I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

When I awoke, I found myself wrapped up in vines against a huge tree.

I noticed Sarah and my family beside me, fully awake now, and struggling to break free.

"Mom, Dad, what's—" I started to say, but I was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"Greetings and bienvenue, young Saturday," Argost said, holding the stone piece, and my mom's fire sword in his hands. "I don't believe you have the pleasure of meeting my man servant—"

"Munya," I said. "Yeah, I watch—" I noticed my parents looking at me. "—all the most wanted list for the latest—" I sighed, giving up. "I've seen your TV show, ok? It's wrong. You're evil, I know. It's still good TV." I mumbled that last part.

"What's so good about it?" Sarah asked. "I've honestly never even heard of it until today, and I don't think I ever want to watch it."

"You should. It's not bad. Maybe we can watch it together sometime."

"I might take you up on that for just one episode."

"Well, as long as we're all fast friends," Argost said.

"You got what you wanted, Argost," Mom said. "Why are you still here?"

"Dear lady, would anyone ever visit the circus if they didn't secretly hope to see the lions eat somebody?"

As if on cue, we heard a roar nearby.

"It's been a dry season," Argost continued. "Poor hunting for the unfortunate Tapire-laura. Won't they be thrilled to see the ordervals I've prepared for them."

Another roar came from in front of us, and three Tapire-laura came out of the bushes, one white, the other two red, and they definitely looked hungry.

They stalked toward us.

I looked around desperately for the claw.

I found it lying on the ground just a few feet away from me.

I looked back toward the Tapire-laura and activated my powers.

"Zak, no," Mom said. "Don't let Argost see—"

Too late.

"Oh, dear boy," Argost said. "That's an unusual gift you have."

"It's ok, Mom," I assured her. "I don't care if he knows what I can do. I'm ready for this."

"We've never pushed your power this far," Dad said. "You might only make them angrier."

"And since they're hungry," Sarah added, "you probably will."

"No, Dad," I said, giving him a confident smile. "I'm ready."

He smiled and nodded.

"Doc," Mom argued. "I—"

"Give him a chance," Dad insisted.

I focused back on the Tapire-laura.

I got in control of them, barely, and forced them to back off.

"Now, now, my pets," Argost told them. "No playing with your food. "Attack them! Now!"

The white Tapire-lauara charged at us.

I still had my powers activated, determined to fight control for it.

"It's not working," Dad said. "Cut it off."

"Just—about—"

I had to time this right.

It was getting closer.

It jumped at me, it's claws extended, and I had it guide them to the vines around me.

It obeyed just long enough to cut the vines, and I moved out of the way.

"Got him."

Argost wasn't happy about that.

He turned to his assistant. "Munya!"

What Munya did next really surprised me.

What looked like spider legs started to break through the back of his shirt, and he ripped it off, revealing himself to be half-human, half-spider.

I looked at my family.

"Did anyone else know that he could do that?" I asked, whimpering a little.

I ran to my mom, and tried to pull off the vines from around her, which was useless.

Munya grabbed me by the back of my shirt and threw me into the mud behind him.

"Don't try to take him alone, Zak," Mom said. "He's too powerful."

I really don't like the lack of faith my parents have for me.

Munya started walking toward me.

I had to think of some way to defeat him, and quick.

Before I could come up with a plan, all of a sudden, Sarah came out of no where and kicked Munya to the ground.

She turned toward me.

"You ok, Zak?" she asked.

"Yeah." I stood up from the ground. "How did you get out of the vines?"

"They had sheathed my sword and left it with me," she explained. "My arms were free enough for me to grab it and slice the vines away."

"Ok. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll deal with Munya. You go stop Argost."

I nodded. "Right."

I ran to retrieve the claw still lying on the ground.

Once I got it, I noticed Argost running away with the stone and Mom's fire sword.

I slingshot my claw toward him, and the aim was so perfect, that it hit his hand and he dropped the stone piece.

The piece hit branch after branch, unraveling from it's cloth, and landed in the mud across the river from me.

Argost growled in frustration.

I was about to go and get it when I noticed Sarah having trouble with Munya, him spitting webs from his mouth at her, and her trying to dodge them and fight him at the same time.

I aimed my claw at the Tapire-luara, activated my powers, getting control of them much easier this time.

"Sick him," I told them, pointing at Munya.

They obeyed, running over to him and attacked.

Satisfied, I ran to get the stone.

"Zak, look out!" Mom said.

I looked above me and saw Argost throw some green steaming balls at me that looked like acid.

I dodged them, caught one with the claw, and threw it toward my family, hoping that it would land on the vines and not their skin.

Luck was on my side.

The acid ball landed on the vines wrapped around Fisk's legs, melting half of them away, but not enough for Fisk to be able to get himself free.

"Mongolian Death Worm Venom," I called.

My parents looked at me in surprise. "How did you—"

"Saw that episode."

Suddenly, Mom's fire sword slashed down in the tree bark from behind, missing my head by a few inches.

I backed away and saw Argost standing on the big branch.

He slashed at me again, and I deflected it, then extended my claw another foot long.

He slashed at me again, and our weapons collided.

I pushed against him, he pushed against me.

I kicked him in the leg, and he backed away.

I slingshot the claw at him, but he dodged it.

He slashed at me again, I deflected, taking a few steps back, but I tripped over a log and landed on my butt.

Argost held the point of my mom's sword at my chest for a few seconds, then jabbed it at me, but I rolled away, got back up on my feet, and ran.

Argost chased me.

I ran by Munya, who was trying to fight Sarah and the Tapire-luara while shooting webs at them.

He grabbed my claw, lifted me off the ground, threw me over his left side, and I landed in some vines, my claw falling out of my hands.

Argost came toward me.

I tried desperately to get out of the vines, but I couldn't.

Luckily, the white Tapire-lauara came to the rescue.

Still half covered in spider webs, it roared at Argost.

He ran from it, and it chased him halfway up a tree.

I got out of the vines, retrieved my claw, and ran to get the stone still lying in the mud.

I bent down and picked it up.

"Zak, above you!" Dad called.

Before I could register what was happening, I heard a caw over my head, and Mom's fire sword suddenly landed in front of me.

"Huh?" I wondered.

I noticed the bird from earlier and Argost in a tree a few feet away.

The bird got it's beak stuck between two branches.

She cawed in protest.

Argost held her mouth open, holding a Mongolian death worm venom ball in his hand, threatening to drop it in and melt her mouth.

She cawed in horror.

"No!" I said.

I had to stop him.

But before I could, Munya shot his web at the stone piece from the tree of a branch behind me, and took it out of my hand.

Then he climbed up higher in the tree.

I wanted to go after him, but I cared more about saving the bird than the stone.

Argost was holding her mouth wide open, about to drop the venom ball into her mouth, she struggling to get away.

I slingshot the claw at Argost, hitting his hand again, knocking the venom out of it.

By luck, the venom ball hit one of the branches that was holding the bird's beak, melting it away, and she was free.

She flapped her wings a few times, looking like she was flying away, but she circled back and tried to attack Argost.

But then Argost's war plane descended above us, the jet engines causing a strong wind that blew away the bird.

Sarah helped my family out of their vines, and we regrouped.

A slot opened up at the bottom of Argost's war plane, and he climbed up the branches of the tree he was in to reach it.

"At last," he said. " 'Tis the hour of anew. Many unhappy pestilences to you all!"

And with that, he jumped into his plane.

It took off, and he was gone.

"They got the last piece of the stone," I said. I fell to my knees. "Sorry, Dad."

My family came toward me.

"I saw what you did, Zak," Dad said. "You made an impossible choice in an impossible situation. And as far as I'm concerned, you made the right one."

The bird landed on the ground ten feet away, walking toward us.

"I can't speak for the rest of the world," Dad continued, "but you're definitely my hero."

The bird reached me, bent her head down, and I petted her.

Then Fiskerton picked me up and embraced me in a hug. Komodo licked my feet, tickling them.

"Hey, easy, fuzz face," I said while laughing.

Mom walked over and gently touched my chin. "More importantly, you're a Saturday. And things always seem to have a way of working out for Saturdays."

She was staring at something on the ground.

I looked down and saw what she meant.

Right in the ground below us was a mud imprint of the stone piece that must've been made when the piece landed there after I made Argost drop it.

Dad knelt down next to it carefully. "Ok. Nobody touches that spot."

Fiskerton put me down.

I went back to the bird where Sarah was petting her, and petting her more myself.

She cooed.

"Looks like we've got a new Secret Saturday, huh?" I said. "I'm going to name her Zon. You know, like AmaZon? She's coming home with us, right?"

I looked at my parents.

They looked at each other.

Fisk was waving his hands in an obvious gesture that he doesn't want them to say yes, but my parents ignored him.

They looked back at me and nodded.

"Yes!" I cheered.

Zon cawed in agreement.

"I'm really glad you're taking Zon home with you," Sarah said. "Because if you didn't, I would have."

"I think we have enough pets at home, Sarah," a voice behind us said.

We turned around and found a woman standing behind us, thirty feet away.

She looked like an older version of Sarah.

She had long, slightly frizzy golden-brown hair; brown eyes; tan skin; was wearing a yellow T-shirt, light blue jeans, and white sneakers.

On her shoulder was some kind of big yellow mouse with red cheeks, and its tail in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Standing beside them was a boy about the same age as me.

He had brown hair, blue eyes, was wearing a dark blue T-shirt with dark blue-and-black shorts, and black sneakers. He also had a sword in a scabbard strapped to his waist, just like Sarah's.

They also had six cheetahs and a pure white wolf with them.

They must be Sarah's family.

"Hi, guys," Sarah said. "You took longer than usual to find me."

"We know," her mom said. "But since we've never really traveled outside of the U.S. before, it's hard to know where to look."

"Don't the animals have a strong sense of smell?"

"Yes, but we couldn't catch your scent," one of the cheetahs said with a female's voice, which really surprised me.

"Well, then how did you guys find me?" Sarah asked.

"When we heard the Saturday's airship a few miles away," The boy, who I assumed was Sarah's brother Zack, said.

"Really? And you guys didn't show yourselves until now?"

"We wanted to find out the kind of people that the Saturdays are," Sarah's mom said, turning her gaze on us. "They seem different from most families, and I think that they're the family we've been looking for."

"I think so too," Sarah agreed. "I realized it once I saw Zak use his powers."

That worried me a little, and I became very cautious. My family seemed to feel the same way.

"Why were you looking for us?" Dad asked them.

"Well, a _friend_ told me that there's a family on earth whose lives are kind of similar to ours," Sarah's mom explained. "And that the only child of that family has these unique powers to control animals, but his parents don't have powers of any kind. So my friend thought that we'd be interested in looking for this family. We were, and we're positive that that family is you guys."

"Ok," Mom said protectively. "So now that you found us, what do you plan on doing to us?"

"Not much," Sarah's mom assured her. "We're not going to do anything harmful to you guys. We would just like to know how your son got the powers that he has."

Mom and Dad looked kind worried by that.

"It's not really any of your business," Dad said.

Sarah's mom put her hands up. "I know. We're just curious. But it's ok if you don't want us to know."

Sarah hesitated. "Umm, I guess I should introduce you guys. Mom, Zack, and the animals, this is Doc, Drew, Zak, Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon. Saturdays, this is my mom, Raylee; her partner Pikachu; my twin brother, Zack; and our pets: Amber, Kimbia, Kika, Chewie, Toto, and Honey the cheetahs; and Shillow, the wolf."

"Hi," I said. "Umm, your pets can talk?"

The animals didn't see to like me asking that question.

"You know, animals _can_ talk," one of the cheetahs said angrily. "People just can't understand them."

"Ok. You don't have to be so rude, Amber," Raylee said. "But anyway, Zak, yes, they can talk."

"How?" I asked.

"I designed special collars for each of them. It allows them to talk, and it also gives them a few special powers of their own."

"Like?"

"Like, they can fly, have super strength, super hearing, super sense of smell, super speed—even though they're already the fastest land animal on the planet—and they can extend their tails to about a mile long."

"Wow," I said in awe. "But how can you tell which of them is which?"

"By their collars," Sarah said. "You see, each one of them has different colored collars. Amber has a dark orange one. Kika's is pink. Honey's is purple, my favorite color. Kimbia's, black. Toto's, blue. Chewie's, green. And Shillow, well, she's the wolf, so you don't really need to know what collar her color is."

"Ok. What about that yellow mouse? It doesn't look like a cryptid, or even from this world. What kind of creature is it?"

"You don't already know?" Sarah asked.

"Umm . . . no."

"Huh. I thought every kid on earth knew about Pokémon. Well, anyway, Pikachu is a Pokémon, and can mostly use electric type powers."

"What kind of other types are there, besides electric?" I asked.

"Well, there's Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Rock, Ground, Flying, Dark, Ghost, Psychic, Poison, Steel, Bug, Ice, Fighting, Fairy, and Dragon. Some Pokémon have two types, some only have one."

"Cool," I said. "And I'm guessing that those dragons you summoned earlier to save us after we fell off the cliff are Pokémon, too?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes. Charizard and Latias. They're my Pokémon. Charizard is a Fire/Flying type, the one we were riding one; and Latias is a Psychic/Dragon type."

"What about that ball you put them in? How did you even do that?"

Sarah reached into her pocket and pulled out the red-and-white ball. It was really tiny, but when she pressed the only button that was in the center of it, it expanded to fit her hand.

"It's called a Poké Ball," she explained. "This is what people use to catch Pokémon. It, I guess, kind of sucks the Pokémon into the ball to make it easier to carry it anywhere. Especially if the Pokémon is too big."

"Cool."

Sarah's Pokéball shrunk again, and she put it back in her pocket.

"I'd really like to thank you guys for helping my daughter," Raylee said.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "We had no idea how far Danielle threw her."

"We were happy to help," Dad said. "Zak's the one who found her."

Sarah gave me a thankful smile, and my face felt a little hot.

"Then I guess I should thank you personally," Raylee said. "Thank you, Zak, for finding her and giving her some help."

"It was no problem," I said.

"Now that we've found the mystery family, let's go home, Sarah."

"Wait, Mom," she said. "Can we stay and help the Saturdays stop Argost from finding Kur?"

Raylee looked confused. "Stop Argost from finding who?"

"I'll explain later. But can we?"

"Until I know more, I'll think about it." She turned toward my parents. "Would you guys mind us staying and helping with, umm, Argost and Kur?"

Mom and Dad looked at each other, and seemed to come to a silent agreement.

"We could use the help," Dad admitted. "But we're not sure if we would like you and your family to stay with us."

Raylee nodded. "That's understandable. How about we discuss this more on the way to your home?"

"Alright. But first I need to make a copy of this mud print of the stone piece. Then we have to repair the airship."

"Ok. We'll be waiting at your airship. Come on, Sarah."

Sarah leaned into me and whispered in my ear. "Well, this isn't what I expected. Looks like your family and mine aren't going to get along for a while."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

Sarah followed her family into the rainforest.

After Dad had made a copy of the mud print, we headed back the way we came.

When we got to the area where our airship was, we saw Sarah and her family, but what really surprised me was the fact that our airship was hovering twenty feet in the air, and the ropes were hanging down from the slot on the bottom of it.

"Umm, I hope you guys didn't mind, but we repaired your airship for you," Raylee said.

My parents looked just as stunned as I was.

"How did you repair the airship?" Dad asked her.

"With our powers," Zack replied as if it was obvious. "Our powers can practically repair anything."

"Impressive," Mom said. "Thank you."

We all climbed into the airship, Sarah's whole family flying into it as if they had wings, and we headed home.

On the way back, Sarah and Zack decided to have a sword fight in the back, and Fisk, Komodo, Zon, and I watched them.

Most of the time they dodged each other's attacks, but they got in a few cuts.

Sarah did a couple of back flips while dodging Zack's attacks.

He slashed with his sword, Sarah deflected with hers, and vice versa.

Then she did a roll, slashed at his side, and he groaned. Blood started to pour out.

Zack backed away a few steps, and Sarah smirked. Then she charged at him.

He dodged to his right, slashed at her back.

She screamed in pain, and fell to the ground.

"Sarah, are you ok?" Zack asked her.

He went to her, but it was a trick.

Once he came too close, Sarah slashed him in the face with her sword, and he fell to his knees and clutched the new cut on his face that was pouring blood, groaning in pain.

"That's for slashing me in the back," Sarah said.

"I should have seen that coming," Zack said.

"Yeah, you should have."

Zack's face with all the blood on it looked really disturbing.

Then he put one of his hands on his side, the other on his face, and they started to glow white.

The cuts on his face and side had disappeared when he moved his hands, and so did the blood.

He put his hands on Sarah's cuts, and healed them too.

"Want to call it a draw?" Sarah asked him.

"Yeah," he agreed.

They shook hands.

That was so cool watching them sword fight.

I'm surprised that Sarah could even do flips with a sword in her hand.

Maybe she could teach me how to do that.

"You guys really know how to use a sword," I said.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "Our mom taught us how to do all that."

"Does she have a sword of her own?"

"Of course she does," Zack said. "She made hers enchanted with electricity, but she doesn't use it much."

"Well, you both look cool with your swords."

"Thanks," they both said in unison.

Everyone was quiet the rest of the way home.

The Hollingers are a pretty interesting family. I really hope they will be able to stay with us.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV.**

Fine.

I'll admit it.

I think Zak is a little cute. But also a little rude.

Once we got back to the Saturday's home, Zak went off to build Zon a nest, and me, my mom, Zack, Pikachu, and the animals went into the woods next to their house to talk in private.

When we found a quiet spot, Zack and I climbed into a tree and sat on one of the branches while everyone else sat on the ground.

"Ok, Sarah," Mom started. "What's the real reason you want to stay with the Saturdays?"

"I already told you," I said.

"Yeah, and we believe you," Zack said. "But we have a feeling that there are more reasons than that, so what are they?"

"There are no other reasons," I lied. "I just really want to help them with this Kur stuff."

Mom studied me for a second. "You like Zak, don't you?"

I sighed.

Their powers have a mind of their own, and they always tell them in their heads when someone is lying, so it's practically impossible to keep a secret from my mom and twin brother.

"I just met him," I said. "It's too soon for me to tell if I like him or not. But I do think he's a little cute."

"I knew it," Zack said.

"Shut up."

"I think he and his family are a little weird," Toto said.

"Yeah," Chewie agreed. "I mean, what are cryptids?"

"They're mythical animals," Mom said. "Like Big Foot, or the Lochness Monster."

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"My brother use to like cryptids when we were young."

"Why doesn't he anymore?"

Mom shrugged. "Who knows. But anyway, Sarah, my powers are telling me that there's another reason than what you're saying."

"Mine are, too." Zack agreed.

Damn those powers. Why won't they mind their own damn business?

"The other reason is, is that I want to get away from all the boys from school," I said.

Every single boy at my school who are older than me won't stop hitting on me. Even though there are some pretty slutty girls, which is surprising given how young we still are, they're all paying attention to me.

Now I don't know if it's because I'm the daughter of the Protector of America, or they're just assholes.

I'm not even eleven years old yet, and I'm already dealing with boys.

I don't like it.

Everyday I'm asked to any upcoming dance our school's having, or just some time to hang out somewhere else other than school, and I always so no.

But do they stop asking me? No.

I wish they'd just leave me the hell alone.

Pikachu interrupted my mental rant.

"Pika?" she asked me, but I didn't understand.

"Pikachu, you know I can't understand you yet," I told her.

She looked over at Mom for her to translate.

"She's wondering why you like Zak," Mom said. "And that that white part of his hair that looks like a star makes him look weird."

"I think that makes him look more cute," I said defensively. "And I haven't known Zak for a whole day yet. But the little I know about him, he's kind, he obviously cares about his family as much as I care about mine, and he never backs down from a fight no matter how scary it is."

"Ok," Zack said. "But what about the fight you two had earlier?"

"I think that was a stupid argument," Mom said. "Who the hell cares who's stronger?"

"Well, I guess you're right," I admitted. "But, Mom, you taught me how to fight people who are bigger than me."

"I know. But it doesn't mean you have to prove it. Especially if you get into an argument about it. It's not worth proving. Just do it when absolutely necessary."

"Speaking of which, you defeated two mercenaries?" Zack asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. It was awesome. I'll tell you more about it later. So, can we stay and help the Saturdays with this Kur stuff?"

"Well, first you've got to explain to us what Kur even is," Zack said. "Besides the fact that it's a cryptid."

So I told them everything that happened from the moment I woke up to the moment they found me.

They seemed to understand most of what I said.

"The Saturdays could use our help with that," Mom said.

"So we can stay?" I asked.

She nodded. "Me, Doc, and Drew have already discussed this on the airship, and they agreed to let us stay and help them stop Argost from finding and controlling Kur.

Zack and I were stunned to learn that.

"Well, that's surprising," Zack said.

"I know," I agreed.

The animals nodded in agreement.

Mom, on the other hand, was confused. "What?"

"Mom, you do know that Doc and Drew are scientists, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"You always told us to stay away from scientists because of what happened with you and the government," Zack said.

"I know. But I can tell that they're not like those scientists. I'm sure of it. We'll be ok with them."

"Let's hope so," Shillow said.

"Anyway," Mom continued. "Sarah, the fact that you said that one of the reasons you want to stay is because you want to get away from the boys at school, even though you're out of school for the summer now. You do realize you won't get away from them forever, right?"

"I know," I said. "I just want to get away from the them for at least through most of the summer."

"Well, I don't blame you there. But the other reason, that I want to talk to you about, is that fact that you like Zak. Do you remember what I told you about dating?"

I nodded. "Yeah. You told me that I should get to know the guy first before I let anything happen between us and see if I like him for who he is."

"Exactly. Don't let it go too far. I mean, Zak might like you too, and I want you to be careful."

"He's eleven years old, Mom. What can he possibly do to me?"

"You never know, Sarah. He might just surprise you."

"Maybe. But I will tell you that I'm going to do just that. I'm not like Zack here."

"Hey," he protested.

"Oh, come on, Zack. You and Selena got together immediately after you two found out you liked each other. And you didn't even get to know each other before you did."

True story.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "But me and Selena have known each other since we were born."

That was also true. Our parents and Selena's are really good friends, and they've raised us together.

"He's right there, Sarah," Mom said.

"I know," I admitted. "But, as I've already said, I've only known Zak for a day, and I'm not going to date him just because I think he's cute."

"That's smart. But be careful. I don't want him to hurt you."

"And if he does," Kika said. "We'll make sure he gets a good punishment."

The animals nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "He'll regret ever hurting you if he does."

I smiled at all of them.

I have such a caring family. They're the best family a girl like me could ever ask for.

"Speaking of which," Honey said, looking off into the distance. "Here he comes now."

I looked in the direction she was looking, and sure enough, Zak was walking over to us.

I wonder why.

My brother, apparently, read my mind, and Zak's too. Another thing he can do with his powers.

"He wants to know if you can stay," Zack said. "And if you can, he also wants to ask you something."

"What?" I asked.

"I'll let him tell you."

Figures.

"We'll let you two talk alone," Mom said. "I'm going to go call your father and tell him what's going on. Come on, guys."

"I know you guys will be listening," I said, "considering the fact that you all have super hearing."

"Of course we'll be listening," Zack said.

With that, they left using their teleportation power to who-knows-where.

"Hey, Sarah," Zak said.

I jumped.

"Jeez." I sighed in relief. "You scared the hell out of me, Zak."

"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly. "But didn't you see me coming?"

"Yes. You just took me by surprise."

"Sorry," he said again, hesitating. "Umm, I was wondering if you can stay?"

I smiled. "Yes, I can. My mom thinks you and your family could use our help."

"Awesome. Umm, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," I teased.

He glared at me.

I smirked. "Payback. Now you know how rude that is."

Zak laughed. "Ok. Can I ask you my question now?"

I sighed, knowing what he was going to ask me. "Sure."

"Can you teach me how to use a sword like yours?"

"I don't know, Zak. I just met you, and . . . wait. What?" I realized what he just asked.

"I was just asking if you could teach me how to use a sword like yours," he repeated, confused.

"Oh. Yeah," I said. "I'd be happy to do that."

"Cool."

"How about we start tomorrow morning?"

"That'd be great."

"Great."

Awkward silence.

Zak shifted his feet nervously. "Umm, I'm going to go see how my parents are doing with the stone piece."

"Ok," I said. "How does Zon like her new nest?"

"She loves it."

"I'm really glad she does."

"Yeah," he said. "Well, I'll see you later."

"Alright," I said. "Bye."

"Bye."

After Zak left, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I thought he was going to ask me out. But I'm glad he didn't.

I wonder why he wanted to learn how to use a sword, though.

I mean, he just got a new weapon, and he already wants to learn how to use another one?

Well, I'll find out tomorrow.

I couldn't wait until then.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter.**

 **Did any of you guys figure out the answer to my quiz last chapter? I would've checked the reviews, but they're still not working for me. Sarah told you the answer after her family appeared, and the answer was:** _Charizard and Latias_ **.**

 **I'll post a new chapter tomorrow.** **Please review, and check out my wiki if you can.**


	4. First Sword Fighting Lesson

**Sarah's POV**

After talking with Zak, I went to look for my mom to tell her about it, even though I knew she was listening.

I went looking around the Saturdays' home, which was maybe a little bigger than mine, looking in every door I passed that opened liked a grocery store's motion sensor doors.

Most of them half empty, I found my mom sitting on a bed with her cell phone in hand in one of the guest bedrooms that the Saturdays' were letting her stay in.

The room was a pretty good size room, about the size of mine at home.

It had orange walls, which was kind of weird; a queen-size bed; a nightstand right next to it with a lamp and digital clock on top of it; and a window on the opposite wall of the door.

"Hey," Mom said, putting her phone down. "Were you surprised by what Zak asked you?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Well, I'm not. He probably liked watching you and Zack sword fight, and wants to try it himself too."

"Yeah. I guess I should've asked you if I can teach him or not."

"You didn't have to. I would've told you yes, anyway. You know I practically let you do whatever you want, right?"

"I know. But I don't know why."

"I have my reasons.

"You have a lot of reasons on why you do certain things, but you never say what those reasons are."

"That's because I get a little emotional when I talk about it. You know easily I can cry."

I nodded. "Yes, I do. I'm the same way, probably getting it from you."

"Probably."

"Anyway, you don't mind if I teach Zak how to use a sword?"

"Of course I don't," Mom said. "Just let me know what kind of sword he wants to use and I'll get it for you, and you can teach him how to use it."

"But I don't know how to use any other sword besides my own."

"You can use practically any kind of sword the same way, Sarah. The only difference is the look and weight of it."

"Are you sure?"

"Sarah, I can use almost every single weapon that has ever been made. Believe me, I know."

"Ok. I believe you."

"Besides, he'll probably want to use the same sword as yours, anyway. He did say that, after all."

"Yeah," I agreed. "So, did you call Dad?"

Mom nodded. "Yeah. He's not exactly happy with this new thing, and doesn't really understand it that much, but he's fine with it. He'll take Emily to Britney during the day, and pick her up and bring her home when he gets off work."

"We can't bring her here?" I asked.

"I think it's a little too dangerous for her to be here. She'll be fine with Britney."

"If you say so. Well, good night."

"Good night."

I exited the room and went toward my temporary guest room, which happened to be between my mom's and Zack's room.

My mom and I have a great mother/daughter bond. I talk to her about everything. I even tell her more stuff than I tell my best friends.

Whatever we talk about, Mom always keeps between me and herself, and so do I.

Sometimes, anyway.

Occasionally, Mom does ask me if she can tell someone about what I told her, like my dad or her best friend Britney, and half the time I say yes, and half the time I say no.

She won't say anything to anyone if I say no, and I won't do the same. That's how great our bond is.

I entered the guest room that I will be staying in for a while. It looked the exact same as Mom's.

The guest rooms at our house are identical with each other as well.

I walked over to the bed and was about to get under the covers, when I realized that I was still wearing the clothes that I've been wearing for the past few days.

I quickly went back to Mom.

When I entered her room, I noticed that she had changed into her PJs already. She was wearing a light pink thank top with light pink shorts.

Mom likes to wear clothes that match in color, as do I. Another thing I get from her.

"Hey, Mom, I need my—" I stopped when I noticed something in her hands.

My favorite pajamas.

She held them out to me. "I figured you were going to come back in here and ask me to teleport home really quick and get you some pajamas. So that's what I did, and got some for you."

I took them and smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. And I also got you clothes for tomorrow, too."

She picked up a blue outfit that was lying on the bed next to her, and handed them to me.

I took them too.

"Thanks," I told her again. Then I realized something. "Umm, where are the animals, and Pikachu?"

"They're playing together outside," Mom said. "They'll be inside soon."

"Ok. See you in the morning."

"Alright. Sweet dreams."

After I got back to my room, I changed into my PJs.

The reason that these are my favorite pajamas is not just because they're purple, which is my favorite color; but it's also because it had Pikachu on the front of the shirt, and all kinds of other Pokémon all over the rest of the clothes.

I know I'm a little too old to be wearing those kind of clothes, but I love Pokémon.

I climbed into bed, but then I felt uneasy, like someone was watching me.

I looked over the side of the bed, then all of a sudden, two something's jumped at me. I screamed, and fell off the other side of the bed.

I heard laughing.

When I lifted my head up, I saw Kika and Honey on the bed with smiles on their faces.

I scowled at them. "That's not funny."

I got up from the floor and sat on the bed between them.

"It was funny to us," Honey said.

I heard Zack laughing in my head.

"Zack, stop laughing and get out of my head," I told him aloud.

He apparently heard me, because I couldn't hear him anymore.

I turned back to Kika and Honey.

"You two are lucky I'm not kicking either of you out," I said.

"We were just playing around," Kika said.

"I know, but you two scared the hell out of me. I was about to grab my sword. I could of really hurt you two."

"But you didn't," Honey said.

"I know I didn't. But please, don't do that again."

"Ok. We won't."

"Thank you."

I petted their heads.

Then I laid down on the bed, and Kika and Honey laid down on either side of me.

I immediately began to feel a little uncomfortable.

"My bed at home is much more comfortable than this bed," I muttered.

"I'll say," Honey agreed.

"I can deal with it."

"So, are you excited about tomorrow, since you're spending it with Zak?" Kika asked.

"I'm not crazy about him. And it's just a sword lesson."

"It won't be one for long."

"Oh my God. Just shut up about it already."

"Ok. Good night."

"Good night."

I turned off the lamp and closed my eyes.

I really hope that Zak isn't attracted to me like the boys at my school are. And if he is, I doubt my family and I will stay for much longer.

* * *

 **Zak's POV**

I'm really glad that Sarah and her family could stay and help us with this Kur stuff, but I'm also glad that Sarah said yes to teaching me how to use a sword like hers.

I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I'll be a sword master in no time, with a person like Sarah teaching me.

It was getting late, and close to my bedtime, so I decided to just go to bed now.

I went and said good night to Mom and Dad, then headed to my room along with Komodo.

Once I got there, I climbed into my bed and got under the covers. Komodo lied down next to my feet.

I turned off the lamp on my nightstand next to my bed, then I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost instantly once my head hit the pillows.

* * *

The next morning, I got up, got dressed in my regular clothes, and went to get some breakfast.

While I was walking down the hall toward the kitchen, I looked outside the window and noticed Sarah sitting on a log with her sword in its scabbard around her waist.

I quickly went out there to join her.

When I reached her, she noticed me and smiled.

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," I replied. "How long have you been out here?"

"Since dawn."

"Why?"

"Because that bed is uncomfortable, and I couldn't sleep in it any longer."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"That's ok. I can ask my mom if she could make it more suitable for me to sleep in. But it's probably best that we start the lesson as soon as the sun rises."

"Well, you could have woken me up. I wouldn't have minded."

"I didn't want to be rude since you had helped me out. Plus, I didn't know where your room was."

"Oh. Ok. I'll show you where my room is later. But before we start the lesson, do you want to have breakfast first? It is the most important meal of the day, after all. For some reason."

"That's probably because it gives you the nutrients you need to start your day. And, yeah, I'll have some."

So we went back inside and headed toward the kitchen.

"What would you like to eat?" I asked Sarah.

"Umm, cereal is fine," she replied.

"Alright."

I gestured toward the island in the middle of the kitchen. Sarah walked over to it, pulled out a stool, and sat down.

I grabbed two bowls from the covert, two spoons from the silverware drawer. I placed one set in front of her, and mine next to it.

I grabbed the cereal. "Cheerios ok?"

"Yeah," she replied.

I poured it in her bowl, then in mine.

I walked toward the refrigerator, opened the door, and pulled out the milk. I walked back over to Sarah, and poured some milk into her bowl.

"Thank you," she said.

"No problem," I said.

Sarah picked up her spoon, scooped up some milk and cereal from her bowl, and put it in her mouth.

I was about to pour the milk into my bowl when all of a sudden, Sarah spit out her food and coughed a few times.

"Are you ok?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah. That milk tastes really bad."

I raised my eyebrow.

I lifted the milk carton to my nose and smelled the liquid inside it. Augh. It does smell bad.

I looked at the expiration date, and I wished I had checked it first before I poured it into Sarah's bowl.

"Yeah, it's about five days past its due date," I said, then threw the carton in the trash. "Do you want something else for breakfast?"

Sarah shook her head. "No, thanks. That milk ruined my appetite. But can I have some juice to get that bad taste out of my mouth?"

I nodded. "Sure."

I went toward the refrigerator again, and I grabbed the orange juice.

I got a glass out of the covert, and poured some into it. And yes, I did check the expiration date before I poured it. Still got about three weeks to go.

I handed the glass to Sarah, and she took it.

"Thanks." She lifted it to her mouth, and gulped it all down. "Well, it got rid of the taste a little bit, but not much."

"Do you want to start training now?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just let me go see if my mom's awake yet. You can go and wait outside for me if you want."

"Ok."

So I went outside to where Sarah was earlier, sat down on the same log, and waited for her.

She came outside a few minutes later with her sword in its scabbard in her hands.

At least, I thought it was her sword, but I noticed her actual sword was still tied around her waist, so I'm guessing the sword in her hands will be mine.

"Ok," Sarah said when she reached me. "We can start the lesson now."

I smiled. "Great."

"Umm, I got you what is now your sword. I wasn't sure what kind of sword you wanted, but I remember you saying that you wanted to learn how to use a sword like mine, so I got you my kind, which is a three-foot-long, classic stainless-steel.

"Oh, yeah. That's fine. I didn't know that there were different kinds of swords."

"Well, your mom uses a differnt kind of sword than I do."

"True. But where did you get that sword?"

"From my mom. That's why I went to see if she was awake, so that she could this sword for me."

"Where did she get the sword?"

"From our home. We have a few spare stainless-steel swords, and my mom teleported home really quick for me to get me one of them for you."

I nodded. "Ok."

Sarah handed me the sword. "The first thing we're going to do is to make sure that you can lift this."

"How heavy is it?" I asked.

"It weighs about twenty pounds."

"Umm, ok."

I took it with both hands, and I was able to lift it.

I even held it over my head as a joke.

"See? I can lift it," I said.

Sarah glared at me. "Ok, first of all, it's easy to lift it with two hands. Second of all, you're not even holding it by the hilt like you're suppose to. And third of all, you need to be able to hold it with just one hand, too."

"Is there a fourth of all?"

"No."

"Ok. But why just one hand? Aren't you suppose to use two?"

"Usually, yes. But some people use a sword and shield. You probably won't, so you need to learn with one hand just in case, for some reason, you can't use both your hands."

"Fine. I'll try. But with two hands first."

"Make sure to pull it out of the sheath."

I grabbed the hilt of the sword with both hands, and pulled it out of its scabbard, but I was only able to lift it half way up my body.

"That's good," Sarah said. "Now try it with one hand."

"Do I have to try it with both hands separately, or just one?" I asked.

"You can do it with either of your hands, but you can try both if you want."

"Ok."

I let my left hand go, trying to hold up the sword with my right hand, but it fell to the ground, me only able to lift it back up again a couple inches off the ground.

"Ok, that's too heavy for you," Sarah said. "I'll go get a fifteen pound sword."

I handed the sword to her. She took it and sheathed it.

"How much does your sword weigh?" I asked.

"Fifteen pounds," she replied. "But my brother's weighs twenty."

"How can he lift a more heavier one?"

"Well, when his powers activated, he got super strength, and he wanted to swing a little heavier sword."

"And since your powers haven't activated yet, you can only lift a fifteen-pound-sword?"

"For now, yes. I'll be right back with the same weight for yours."

Sarah went back inside the house and came back out a few minutes later, carrying the sword in her hands.

"That sword looks the exact same as the other one," I noted.

"That's because it is the same sword," she replied. "Now try it."

I grabbed the hilt of it once again with both my hands and unsheathed it.

It did feel a little lighter than before.

"How did you make this sword lighter?" I asked her.

"I didn't," she replied. "My mom did with her powers. And it's easier for you to lift now, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'm guessing you want me to try it with one hand now?"

"Yes."

I dropped my left hand from the hilt. It dropped a little, but my right hand was able to hold it up.

Sarah nodded in approval. "Perfect. Now let's start training."

She held the scabbard for my sword in front of me.

I took it and sheathed my sword.

"Do you want me to buckled that for you?" Sarah asked.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Your sword's sheath. Would you like me to buckled it on for you, like how my sword's sheath is around my waist? Or would you like to strap your sword across your back like your mom's sword is?"

"Oh. Umm, no, that's ok. Around the waist is fine."

I handed her the scabbard.

She took it. "You can put this on like a second belt. So which side would you like your sword to be on?"

"Does it matter?"

"Umm, not really. But I have my sword on my left side because I'm right-handed. So, which hand do you use more: your left or your right?"

"Umm, my right hand."

"Ok. Then your sword should be on your left side."

Sarah walked to my right, wrapped the straps around my waist, and buckled them together, which made me feel a little uncomfortable.

"There you go," she said.

"Thanks," I said.

Sarah nodded. "Ok. Now unsheathe your sword with one hand."

I did as she said, grabbing the hilt of it with my right hand and pulled it out.

"Good," Sarah said, then unsheathed her own sword. "Now point your sword out in a threatening way. You know, like I did to you yesterday.

I remembered. And to make sure I remembered, Sarah did it again with her sword.

Luckily this time, she didn't point it at me.

I mimicked her, but the sword was a little heavy, so I bent my elbow a little to keep it up.

"It's ok," Sarah said. "You'll eventually get used to the weight of the sword." She put her free hand under my elbow and straightened it. "Good."

She put her sword down and held it by her side. I did the same.

"Ok, umm . . ." Sarah looked around us. "We need something that can cut easily."

"You need me to summon something for you?" a voice called from behind us, startling us.

Zack was standing right there when I could've sworn he wasn't there a second ago.

Sarah sighed in relief. "Good morning, Zack. Now tell me what the hell you're doing here."

"And good morning to you, too," he said. "I noticed you two were out here, so I thought I would join you."

"That's fine. But you didn't have to sneak up on us like that."

"Sorry."

"Apology excepted." Then she turned to me. "Zak, you wouldn't mind if my twin brother, here, stays and watches us train, do you?"

I shook my head. "No, it's alright. He can stay."

Sarah smiled. "Thank you." She turned back to her brother. "Zack, can you summon a net for us so that we can practice slashing?"

He nodded. "Yeah. How thick do you want it? And how big?"

"It doesn't matter how thick, but can you make it as tall as Zak?"

"Of course I can. Now where do you want it?"

"Right here is fine," she said, gesturing right in front of us.

"Ok."

Zack held up his hand, and it began to glow white like before. A white net appeared in front of us.

Ii was the exact same length as I was.

"Great job, Zack," Sarah said.

"Thanks."

Sarah turned to me. "Ok, Zak. Next I'm going to teach you how to slash with your sword while holding it with one hand first, then with two hands."

"Why would I need to try it with one hand, then with two?" I asked.

"Because it's easier to do just one slash with one hand than two slashes at the same amount of time with two hands."

"How come?"

"Well, I'll show you."

She approached the net with her sword still in hand.

"You might want to stand back," she told me.

I took a few steps back.

"You too, Zack."

"I'm ten feet away from the net," he said. "I know your sword is only three feet long."

"Oh. You look like your closer."

Sarah raised her sword, and in one quick motion, she moved her sword to one side of her, turned it sideways, and cut through the middle of the net, and half of it fell to the ground.

I was impressed.

"Zack, can you repair the net?" Sarah asked.

"Of course I can," he replied.

"Ok. Just thought I'd ask."

Zack's hand glowed white again, and the net was back to the way it was."

"Cool," I said.

"Thank you," Sarah said to her brother, then turned to me. "Ok, Zak. Did you see how I cut the net?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you think you can do that with your sword?"

"I can try."

"Well, at least you said that you'll try. But don't worry if you mess up. It takes a while to do it just right. But don't do it as fast as I did until you get use to the weight of your sword."

"Ok."

I approached the net the same way Sarah had, raised my sword, moved it to my left side, turned it sideways, slashed the net from left to right, and half of it fell to the ground.

I turned toward Sarah.

"That was nice," she said, impressed.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "You did it the same way Sarah did, even though you weren't suppose to do it fast."

"He didn't do it fast," Sarah said.

"Yes, he did. But he had to do it fast to cut it, or he wouldn't have been able to if he did it slow. But he moved his sword to the side and turned it sideways slower than you did."

"I saw that too, and that's fine. He did great."

"You two really think I did good?" I asked.

"Yes," Sarah said. "I mean, when I learned how to slash with my sword, it took me a while to cut straight. But you did it on your very first try, and it was great."

I smiled. "Thanks. I always try to do great."

Sarah laughed. "I'll bet. Now let's see if you can do it with two hands. Zack, repair the net, please."

"Ok." He held out his hand toward the net, and it was back to the way it was.

Sarah approached it. "Watch closely at how I do this. And you're going to want to stand back farther this time."

I backed up five more steps.

Sarah raised her sword up, holding it with both hands.

In one quick moment again, she turned it sideways, cut half of the net, then she did a spin with her sword held high and slashed straight down the rest of the net, it all falling to the ground in three pieces.

"Wow," I said.

Zack repaired the net, then Sarah sheathed her sword and turned toward me.

"You think you can do that?" she asked.

"It doesn't look hard," I replied.

"Well, it kind of is hard, because when you spin, you can lose your focus, even though you only spin once for barely a second."

"I think he can do it," Zack said. "He was able to do it last time."

"Well, there wasn't a spin last time." Sarah sighed. "You wanna do it, Zak?"

I nodded. "If you can do it, I can do it."

Sarah smiled. "That's the spirit."

She moved aside as I moved in front of the net again with my sword in both my hands.

I held it up, and was about to start when I remembered something and stopped.

"Umm, do you want me to do it slow?" I asked Sarah.

"No," she replied. "You're going to need to do it fast."

"Ok."

I still had my sword held up, then, just as fast as Sarah, I turned it sideways, cut through the net, did a spin with my sword held high, and slashed straight down the middle of the rest of the net, and it fell to the ground.

I turned and look at Sarah.

She had a big smile on her face.

"You're a natural," she said.

I smiled back. "Umm, thanks."

"I think we're done for the day, if that's ok."

"Ok." I sheathed my sword.

"Alright," Zack said. "If you both are done out here, I'm going inside."

"Ok," Sarah said. "Thanks again, Zack."

After he left, Sarah sat down on the log as she had before, and I sat down next to her.

She grabbed her scabbard, pressed a button on the side of it, and a part of it slid aside, showing a white cloth.

Sarah grabbed it, unsheathed her sword, and started polishing the blade.

"I'm guessing your mom made that on there with her powers?" I asked her.

"Made what on where?" Sarah asked.

"That secret compartment on your scabbard where you got that cloth."

"Oh, that. Yeah. It's a good place to put a small first-aid kit or a cloth to polish your sword with."

"Does mine have one?"

"Yeah. It's in the same place on yours as it is on mine."

"Ok."

I grabbed my scabbard, found the button, pressed it, and pulled out the cloth. I unsheathed my sword and began to wipe clean the blade too.

"Umm, I want to apologize to you about yesterday," I told Sarah.

She narrowed her eyes. "About what?"

"About my rudeness when you wanted to ask me a question, and I kept saying, 'You just did.'"

"Oh. That's ok. You just wanted to be funny, even though you weren't."

"Maybe. But I just found it funny how you were asking me if you could as me a question. What was that question, anyway?"

"My mom already asked your parents about it."

"And what was it?"

"It was about how you got your powers, how you were even born with them if your parents don't have any kind of powers of their own."

"They don't," I agreed. "But how I was born with these powers, I don't know. I don't even think my parents understand how."

"Haven't you ever wondered?"

"Not really," I admitted. "But what about your mom? How did she get her powers?"

"It's kind of a secret, but I don't think it will hurt to tell you."

"Throughout my whole life, my family and I have kept secrets. I don't think knowing another one is going to hurt."

Sarah smiled. "Ok. My mom was in her early twenties when she got her powers. She got them from the queen of the Immortal World."

"The Immortal world?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's where most people like us live. I've never been there before, but my mom has, and she says it's much bigger than earth. The people there get along a little better than the people on earth most of the time, and that's one of the things they insult mortals with. But anyway, the queen gave my mom powers of her own to, I guess, make her life easier and happier, because apparently my mom lived somewhat of a lonely life. I don't know why that was. The animals know a lot, having been with her for almost eighty years now, but they won't tell me anything. My mom doesn't like talking about it, even after she got her powers. I learned that the hard way."

"Is your mom happy now?"

"Yeah. Once she met my dad, and when she had me, my twin brother, and my baby sister, she was very happy. And she still is."

"That's good," I said.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "Kika and Honey did tell me that there was one person in my mom's past that always made her happy when she was upset. That person really cared about her, and she really cared about him. They saw each other everyday. They even spent holidays together, because my mom didn't have any family, and his family really liked her. But I guess their friendship came to an end and they stopped talking to each other. Kika and Honey never told me if the person was a man or a woman, but it just seemed obvious to me. My mom loved him, and he broke her heart. We can't talk or even ask about him because, as Kika and Honey told me, she might cause a wildfire again. I don't know if that's what happened between him and my mom. It's just a guess, but I'm not sure."

"Wow." That was all I could think to say about that. "But I don't think he broke your mom's heart."

"Why do you say that?" Sarah asked.

"Well, you said that he really cared about her, right? Always made her happy when she was upset about something? If your mom loved him, he probably loved her too."

"You might be right. But they probably eventually fell out of love with each other."

Sarah finished polishing her sword. She sheathed it and put the cloth back in its secret compartment in the scabbard.

She stood up. "Come on." She walked toward my house.

I quickly stood up and ran after her, slowing down to her pace once I reached her side.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You said you were going to show me where your room was," Sarah replied.

"Oh. Right."

Once we got inside, I showed her to my room.

When we entered it, Sarah looking around, examining it.

"Nice," she said. "It's almost as big as my room at home." She walked over to my bed and sat down on it. "You're really good with that sword."

"Thanks," I said. "I have a really good teacher."

She smiled, and possibly blushed a little bit. "But I have to ask you, how come you wanted to learn a new weapon, even though you just got the claw yesterday?"

"Well, I've seen how you fight with your sword, and I wanted to learn how to fight with a sword myself."

"Ok. That sounds reasonable enough. But it's gonna be a while before you can what I do with my sword."

"I know."

I heard the door open behind me. I turned and noticed Komodo come in. He walked past me, going toward Sarah. He jumped on the bed and licked her face.

"Hi, Komodo," she said with a smile, and started to pet him.

"He really likes you," I said. "Which is weird, since he doesn't usually like someone new he meets."

"Well, my aura probably makes him more friendlier," Sarah said.

"Did you say you were born with that?"

"Yeah. But don't ask me how, because I don't know how. My mom, my dad, not even my twin brother have it."

"Ok."

Sarah stood up from the bed. "I'm going to go flying for a while."

"How?"

"By riding my Charizard. If you want, you can join us."

"I can't fly."

"No. But you can ride on Zon. I'm sure she'll let you."

"Yeah, I guess I could."

"Well, I'll see you later."

"Ok."

She walked out of the room.

After a few seconds, I called after her. "Sarah?"

She peered back into the room. "Yeah, Zak?"

"Do you want to start another lesson tomorrow at dawn?" I asked.

She hesitated. "Umm, are you sure we're going to be able to tomorrow? I mean, don't you think we have some work to do with that piece of the Kur Stone we have?"

I frowned. "Umm, probably."

Sarah nodded. "Sorry. We can try the day after tomorrow, though."

I faked a smile. "Yeah."

"Well, bye."

"Bye."

And she left me and Komodo alone in my room.

I felt disappointed, but it wasn't because I had to wait another day to learn how to do more stuff with my sword.

I felt like it was something more than that, but I wasn't sure what.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading this, and I hoped you like this chapter.**

 **I want to give a shout out to "Chris" who wrote me a very mean review yesterday. Let me tell you, "Chris", to fuck off. You have no right to tell me to stop writing. I've worked very hard on this story to give up now, and you're not going to stop me. Yeah, I know my grammar's bad, but it's not as bad as other stories I've read on here (no offense). And let me tell you that English is my worst subject. I try my best, but I know it's still not always that good. You don't like my story, don't read it, but don't you dare tell anyone to stop writing. You can't get better at it if you just stop it completely.**

 **Anyway, to my actual readers who are continuing to read my story despite my bad grammar, thank you. I will post a new chapter tomorrow. Please review.**


	5. The Vengeance of Hibagon

**Zak's POV.**

Right now, it's weird.

All of us are on the airship, looking at the holographic image of the piece of the Kur Stone, again, even though my dad's been studying it ever since we got it, and it's pretty boring.

I was looking through a magazine of some kind, and Sarah and her family seemed just as bored.

"There, you see?" Dad said, gesturing toward the stone piece. "When I enlarge it, the projection of our Kur Stone piece, there's a chip in the surface right here. What does that tell us?"

"That that's where you guys separated the whole thing into three pieces?" Zack suggested.

"Or that it's a very old rock?" Mom said. "You've been studying that thing for days, Doc. I think you're seeing things. Take a break."

He just shook his head. "Breaks are for people without mortal enemies searching for the key to ultimate power."

"Not unless you have a family to take care of," Raylee muttered, but he ignored her.

"What about showers?" I asked Dad. "Who are showers for?"

He stared at me.

"Somebody had to say it, Dad," I said.

He lifted his armpit and smelt himself. He sighed, then turned back to the hologram. "This Kur Stone fragmentize our only hope of finding out Argost's next move is. There's no time to waste. Even for personal hygiene."

"Hey, big man," Mom said. "We all want to stop Argost, and we're going to. We'll figure this thing out, but not by letting it take over our lives. You need rest, food."

"Food," he repeated. "Food sounds good. I'll eat in here."

Mom grabbed two slices of bread, and, for some reason, a pet brush.

She brushed some of Fiskerton's fur, which he liked, pulled the loose fur from the brush, and laid it on the bread, making it a sandwich.

I started to smile and looked forward to what's about to happen.

Sarah, Zack, and Raylee seemed to feel the same way.

"Ok," Mom whispered to us. "A good scientist stays focus on all his surroundings, not just one piece of evidence, something your father seemed to have forgotten. So this should wake him up."

She handed Dad the sandwich.

He took it without even looking at it, then he took a bite out of it.

"Thanks," he said, completely oblivious to what was between the slices.

Raylee started laughing, but tried to stop by covering her mouth with both her hands.

All of us were stunned.

"Well, he's lost to us now," Mom said.

Then we heard the video phone ring in the background.

"Huh," Mom said. "Maybe that's Doc's stomach calling his brain."

Mom went to go answer it.

Raylee totally lost it there. Even Zack and Sarah couldn't contain a few giggles.

"I'll be right back," Raylee said in between laughs.

She continued to laugh all the way out of the room.

"Your mother watches a lot of comedy," Amber said. "Sometimes she laughs at the most stupidest jokes of all time."

"I think she laughs at those jokes because of how stupid they were," Shillow said. "Not because they were funny."

"No, I think it was because they were funny to her."

"No, they were stupid to her."

"No, they were—"

"Alright," Sarah interrupted. "It doesn't matter why my mom laughed. And what Drew just did was a little funny. Besides, I know my mom, and she only laughs when she thinks it's funny."

"Told you," Amber said.

"Stop it," Zack said.

"Umm, ok," I said, confused.

I turned back to Dad. "Dad, seriously. You need a break. Maybe we could go a couple rounds in the mini-gym, my claw versus your battle glove. You can help me work on my cryptid powers."

"Zak, this is important," he said without even looking at me.

I leaned back in the chair I was sitting in and sighed. "Promise me if I ever go super obsessive about something, you'll snap me out of it before I eat a hairball sandwich."

Sarah laughed. "There's a good chance we'll have you eat it first, and then snap you out of it."

"Why?"

"Because it would be funny to see your reaction when we told you you ate it."

I couldn't help but smile at that.

I felt the airship move, and Mom and Raylee came back into the room.

"Why are we changing course?" Dad asked Mom.

"Oh. You noticed," she replied, then turned serious. "That call was doctor Yoshico. Trouble in Japan. Looks like we're gonna have to forget about Argost for a while."

"What? But . . . is it really that important?"

"Well, it's _our_ kind of trouble."

He sighed. "Alright."

Mom smiled with satisfaction.

"So exactly what kind of trouble is going on in Japan?" Sarah asked.

"There's a cryptid terrorizing the city of Tokyo," Mom replied.

"What kind of cryptid?" I asked.

"I don't know. But we'll find out when we get there."

After we arrived in Tokyo, all of us, except Komodo and Zon, got out of the airship and started walking through the city.

Everything seemed calm at the moment.

There were a lot of posters, action figures, balloons, and other things of Argost everywhere we looked.

"This is suppose to be us forgetting about Argost?" Dad asked.

"What?" I said. "Japan is Weird World's number one fan base."

"Look at this garbage," Dad said, gesturing to the people buying the posters and action figures. "Are they blind to what Argost is really after?"

"My answer is yes," Raylee said.

"How can so many people fall for that lunatic's act?"

"Well, do they really know him like you guys do?"

"I guess because their lives are just so very empty," I said. "I'm gonna take a moment and be sad for all those Argost fans."

Zack chuckled.

"What?" I asked him.

"You're weird," Sarah said.

"What's weird about that?"

"It's just—never mind," Zack said.

"No, really. What?"

"Nothing, Zak," Sarah said.

I decided not to press her on telling me.

We walked past a guy selling Argost action figures. My family and the Hollingers continued on without paying too much attention.

I stopped.

"How much for the talking Argost figures?" I asked the guy. "Now, I warn you, I've hackled with street venders from Cairo to Cawala Lamoure, so—"

"For you, free," the guy said.

"Really?" I asked, surprised.

"Of course not. This is a business. Give me twenty dollars."

"I'll give you ten."

"Twenty eight."

"You just said twenty."

"My time is valuable, and you are wasting it. Thirty."

"Stop."

"Thirty-two."

"Ok, ok, I'm paying—"

Suddenly, the blade of a sword appeared out of no where.

But it wasn't pointed at me.

"Don't pay him that, Zak," Sarah said, standing right next to me, holding her sword's blade inches from the guy's chest."

"Sarah, what are you doing?" I asked, but she ignored me.

"Listen here, you ass," she said to the guy. "He's going to pay you your original price, which is twenty, and you'll never see us again. Deal?"

"Ok, ok," the guy said, clearly frightened.

Sarah turned to me. "Go ahead, Zak."

I quickly got over my shock, gave the guy twenty dollars, picked up an Argost action figure, and put it in my backpack that I was carrying.

Sarah sheathed her sword. "Let's go."

I looked at the guy. "Sorry."

Sarah and I ran in the direction to where both our families were headed, who still hadn't noticed are short absence.

I caught Sarah's arm. "Why did you do that?"

"He was ripping you off, Zak," she replied. "He kept raising the price for a stupid reason, like he didn't have better things to do then just stand out here selling useless crap. Now that's a waste a time. And it's not like he had much, if any business, anyway."

"That doesn't matter, Sarah. You could've gotten yourself into a lot of trouble for threatening him like that."

"Oh, relax. If something bad did happen, my mom would've taken care of it."

"How, exactly?"

"Well, we have powers that can do almost anything, so she probably would've erased the guy's memory of ever seeing us."

"Ok. But why did you call him an ass?"

"Because he was acting like one. Now can you please stop asking questions and forget that it ever happened?"

I sighed. "Fine."

We got back to where are families were, which was at the corner of a street.

"Alright," Dad said. "We'll do a quick look around. If we don't see anything soon, we should head back. We've got more important work to—"

Suddenly, Dad burped. "Pardon me." Then he clutched his stomach with both hands. "Oh. Stomach."

Mom was trying to contain her smile, but no one else was.

"I think his stomach finally got through to his brain," Zack whispered to me and Sarah.

She giggled.

Dad burped again, and a small piece of Fisk's fur flew out of his mouth. He caught it in his hand, looking confused. "That's odd."

"Yes," Mom agreed. "That's very strange. So Yoshico said the creature sightings were all over the Hiroshima District. I'm sure if we poke around a while, we'll run into—"

Suddenly, the animals started growling.

"What is it?" Raylee asked them.

"Something's coming," Shillow said. "Something big."

Suddenly, a man ran right past us, knocking into Mom. She stumbled into me, and I caught her.

We heard stomping down the street where the man was running from, so we looked behind us and saw a big gorilla coming our way.

Most of us were in its path, and it was coming fast.

Something wrapped around us all and pulled us out of the way just in time before the gorilla barreled past us, chasing after that guy.

"Thank you," I heard Mom say.

I noticed the thing that wrapped around us was a tail. It retracted back to where it came from.

"You're welcome," Amber said. "Gotta look out for my cubs."

I remembered Raylee saying that one of the animals powers was the ability to extend their tails to as long as a mile. It was a little weird.

We focused back on the big gorilla.

"Zak, see if you can calm him down," Dad said.

"Cryptid powers on the big guy," I said, pulling the claw out from hanging on my belt. "Got it."

We ran after the big gorilla.

He turned a corner a block ahead. When we caught up to him, we found that it lead to a dead end by a brick wall, trapping the guy he was chasing. He had the guy in his huge hand.

I slingshot my claw onto his shoulder.

"Good, gorilla," I said, then activated my powers. "Now let's just put the dirty rude man back down, ok?"

I didn't feel any connection to him through my powers.

The gorilla threw the guy at us, knocking us all to the ground. Then he jumped over the brick wall behind us and he was gone.

We all got up from the ground.

"There was nothing," I said. "He didn't even flinch. That's never happened before."

"That's because he's not a cryptid," Sarah said. "At least, not on the inside, he's not."

"What do you mean he's not a cryptid?" I asked her.

"Well, my aura can attract an animal, or cryptid, and it can also tell whether a creature is an actual creature, or a human being wearing a costume. And that gorilla is not a real gorilla."

"Then what is it?" Zack asked. "A human?"

"I'm not sure," Sarah replied, looking troubled.

"Let's find out," Dad said.

He jumped over the brick wall, and the rest of us all followed, doing the same.

We caught up with the gorilla. He was running into the streets with a lot of cars going by and people walking on the sidewalks.

Mom jumped onto a truck, unslung a Cortex disrupter from her shoulder, and fired up a blast, but Dad pushed it down.

"Ok," she said. "That is really throwing off my aim."

"Too many pedestrians for the cortex disruptor," Dad said. "Wait until he moves to a less populated area."

She nodded.

We ran after the gorilla.

He jumped onto a car, smashing it flat, then climbed up the bridge, going to the train station.

"Wow," Mom said. "I guess he's got a train to catch."

A train was passing by the gorilla, and he jumped onto it.

Mom and Dad used their grappling hooks to get up the bridge and onto the train. Then they continued to chase after him.

Raylee and her pets followed behind. The rest of us were a little slow.

"This is going to be weird," Sarah said.

"You got that right," Zack agreed.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, and up they went, flying as if he had wings.

I climbed onto Fisk's back, holding on as he climbed up the bridge, and then jumping onto the train.

We ran toward the front of the train, since that's where our parents were chasing the gorilla. We noticed a train going the opposite way right next to us, and the gorilla was on it.

Still on Fisk's back, I slingshot my claw toward him. It latched onto his back, which was a mistake, because it got him to notice me, and he began running toward the other end of the train.

Unfortunately, the claw was still latched onto his back, and it pulled me along with it.

I was holding on for dear life.

The gorilla jumped off the train, and continued to run beside it. I hit a trash can, which really hurt, but I was able to grab the lid from it, and slide it under my feet, using it like a sled.

The gorilla stopped suddenly.

He grabbed the cable of the claw from his back, swung me around, the lid flying out from under my feet. He let go, and I landed on the train tracks, right in front of an on-coming train. The claw had slipped out of my hands, and was lying next to me.

I noticed my family and friends coming toward me.

I was seconds away from being hit by the train. I stood up, but it was too late. I was out of time.

I closed my eyes, and braced myself for impact, hoping for a miracle.

"Zak!" I heard Mom call.

That was probably the last time I was ever going to hear her voice again.

Then something knocked into me, pushing me over, and I landed on the hard ground. I heard the train run by right next to me, but I didn't feel it hit me.

I was lying on my back, and something was on top of me.

I opened my eyes and saw Sarah looking down at me. Then I realized what she did.

She knocked me over to the other tracks where there wasn't a train coming so that I wouldn't get run over.

That was brave.

"Are you ok?" Sarah asked me, looking down at me.

"Yeah," I said.

She was still on top of me.

We were looking into each other's eyes, our faces only inches away, and I don't think either of us wanted to move.

That is, until, someone cleared their throat.

Our families were standing next to us.

Sarah stood up and offered me her hand. I took it.

Mom embraced me in a hug. "I'm so glad you're ok."

"Yeah, thanks to Sarah." I turned toward her. "Why did you save me, anyway?"

"Why wouldn't I?" she said. "It's not like I hate you or anything."

"Right. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"That was risky, Sarah," Raylee said.

"I know. But I guess you could say it's in my blood."

"How so?"

"Well, you are the Protector of America, aren't you? You do risky things all the time."

"I guess that's true."

"He's here," Shillow said.

I didn't know who she was talking about. Then Fisk pointed, and I noticed the gorilla hanging down from the bridge above us.

"If you value your lives, you will pursue me no further," he said. Then he jumped onto another on-coming train, and he was gone.

"Did that gorilla thingy just use the word 'pursue'?" I asked.

" _Purrsuuuue_ ," Fisk repeated.

"Yes," Zack said. "And that makes me want to chase him even more."

"I know," Sarah agreed.

"What?" Toto asked, sounding a little offended. "You guys act like you've never heard an animal talk before."

"Yeah," Chewie agreed.

"Well, you guys can only talk because I made collars that allow you to," Raylee said. "But how he can talk is a different story."

"I told you he wasn't a cryptid," Sarah said. "Though he feels like one on the outside, but not on the inside."

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"It's hard for me to explain."

"Well, let's see if we can find him with the airship," Mom said.

"I can teleport us all there," Raylee said.

"The faster we get there, the better," Dad said.

"Ok. Brace yourselves." She raised her hand, and it glowed white.

Then we were in the control room of our airship.

"That is so cool," I said.

"Thanks, Raylee," Mom said.

She smiled. "You're welcome."

Mom went to the controls, strapped herself in her chair, then she powered up the airship, and we were in the air.

We decided to follow the train that the gorilla jumped on.

"I wish we knew where that gorilla's headed," Mom said. "Then we could wait for him there."

"My guess is that he's going to Tokyo Harbor," Kimbia said.

"How do you know that?" Sarah asked him.

"He must've heard that guy in the alley say that," Zack said. "I did, too."

"I didn't hear him say that."

"Neither did I," I said.

"Well, we do have super hearing," Raylee said. "So we would hear something before someone with normal hearing would."

"Ok." Mom turned to me. "Any match on the footprint scan?"

The controller was blinking.

I picked it up, and pulled it up on the big screen in front of us. It showed a picture of the gorilla and it's cryptid name.

"Hibagon, from the Mount Hiba region," I said. "It's definitely a cryptid. So what happened with my powers?"

"Well, that Hibagon is a human," Sarah said. "I'm sure of it. You can't control humans, Zak. Only cryptids."

"Well, then how do you explain the human inside a Hibagon body?" I asked.

"Well, my mom can turn into any kind of animal she wants. Can you demonstrate for me, Mom?"

"Sure," Raylee said.

She lifted her hand, it glowed white, and suddenly her body transformed into a cheetah.

"See," Sarah said, gesturing toward her mom. "She has an actual cheetah's body on the outside, but she's still a human on the inside."

"So you're saying that the Hibagon is like you guys?" I asked.

"He can't be," Zack said.

"No," Raylee agreed. She turned herself back into a human. "Our powers can feel the strength of someone else's powers if they have any, like with your powers, Zak. But Zack and I didn't feel anything from that Hibagon. So he had to have been turned into an animal some other way. We Immortals can turn other people into animals, too."

"Do you think another Immortal did just that?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. I don't see why, but I guess you never really do know why the perpetrator does anything until he tells you why."

"Maybe your dad's run into something like this before," Mom said. "I—" She stopped, narrowing her eyes. "Where is he, anyway?"

I looked around the room.

I guess none of us had realized he was gone until now, but I bet we all knew where he was.

Mom pulled up the video monitors in the airship and found Dad in the back, looking at the holographic piece of the Kur Stone. Again.

"Doc," Mom called.

He was startled.

"I thought we were putting Argost aside," Mom said.

"We are," he said, turning the hologram off. "I—I just—Do I have to justify my every—"

The control right next to him started blinked.

"Now I lost my place," Dad grumbled.

"Dad, Dad, Dad," I said, shaking my head. "Do you want some pointers on how _not_ to get busted for stuff your not suppose to be doing?"

"Darling," Mom said to him. "Could you please focus at least some of that massive brain power on the problem at hand? We're trying to track a giant here."

"I'd start down there," he said, pointing at the screen in front of him, showing a live footage of a forest outside with a line of a destruction of trees.

"Huh," Mom said. "I think he found his stop."

"Looks like it," Amber agreed.

"He's going to Tokyo Harbor, right?" I said. "Looks like gorilla man's swimming the rest of the way."

Mom sped up the airship, and we arrived there some time after the sun set.

She landed, and we all exited out onto the dock, waiting for the Hibagon to show up.

A little while later, he finally did, scaring the people that were loading supplies onto a ship. He picked up a crate and broke it with his bare hand.

Dad stalked toward him and shot a net around him to restrain him. Then the rest of us came out from hiding behind the crates and surrounded him.

Mom aimed her cortex disruptor at him. "Uh, hi there. If you can speak, I'm guessing you can reason as well. So let's be reasonable."

"I have nothing to say to the lucky's of Shogi Fuzen," the Hibagon said. "Tell your master my vengeance will not be stopped so easily."

"Ok. We'll be sure to do that," I said. "Just as soon as you tell us who Shoji Fuzen is."

"What?" he asked, sounding surprised. "But . . . he didn't hire you to track me?"

Just then, and couple laser blasts went off from my left, hitting the weapons my parents were holding out of their hands.

We looked where the shots came from, and saw a group of men in suits with blasters on their wrists. Then we noticed a man standing on a ship behind them.

I'm guessing he was Shoji Fuzen, because the ship had the name Fuzen on it.

"Bring me the Hibagon alive and unharmed," he said. "Deal with the others as you wish."

"Fuzen?" Dad asked the Hibagon.

"I have escaped his men before," he replied. "You will need me in this fight."

"Actually, we really don't," Raylee said. "But I guess we could use the help."

Mom unsheathed her fire sword and cut the net from around him.

He roared.

Shoji Fuzen's men started shooting their laser guns at us. The Hibagon jumped into the group of men and each of them ran in different directions.

The men that came after us we took care of. But the animals were nasty, clawing and biting them, leaving them with very bloody marks.

The Hibagon pounded the dock with his fists, causing a wave of wood to ripple in front of him, knocking a few men over the dock and into the harbor.

I liked that.

"Think you can do that again?" I asked him.

He didn't say anything. He just hit the dock again with me, Sarah, Komodo, and Zack running toward the ship.

Once it passed under our feet, we were launched into the air and landed on the ship.

I kicked a guy in the face upon landing and knocked him out. Komodo and Zack tried to stop Fuzen from leaving in his helicopter while it was rising from the ground.

Komodo had turned invisible and bit his leg while Zack had grabbed onto his arm and tried to pull him out.

Fuzen somehow managed to kick them both off and out of the helicopter, and now they were free falling.

Zack used his powers to fly and grabbed Komodo. They flew down to the dock.

Sarah and I joined them.

For some reason, my talking Argost action figure popped out of the top of my backpack.

"Greetings and bienvenue," he said, his usual catch phrase, then his evil laugh.

"What was that?" Mom asked while fighting one of Fuzen's men.

"Just, uh, saving a baby," I replied.

She had turned her head toward me, not noticing another guy coming at her.

"Behind you!" I said.

She turned just in time when he lifted a keg and threw it at her.

Mom held her sword straight up, and once the keg made contact, it separated into two pieces on either side of her, setting them on fire and just happening to land on the ship, setting it ablaze.

Fuzen's men were all passed out around us.

We all gathered together.

"Wow," I said to the Hibagon. "That Fuzen guy was kind of a jerk, huh? I can't believe you thought we worked for him."

"Who are you?" Dad asked him.

"My name is Professor Talu Mizuki," he said. "At least, it use to be. My research was funded by Shoji Fuzen, a wealthy philanthropist, who turned out to be Tokyo's biggest crime lord. A fact I learned much too late." He told us about the invention he made that swapped animals and peoples brains into the others body, and how Fuzen meant to use it for evil. "I knew there was only one way to stop Fuzen's plan: to take the Hibagon body myself. I stopped them, but the fire destroyed the device. Now I am doomed to live out my life as this . . . beast. At least I'm not without purpose. I will take out my revenge on the man who did this to me."

Wow. That's rough. I felt sorry for him.

"Professor Mizuki," Dad said. "You have our sympathies, and we'll help you anyway we can. But we can't allow you to take the kind of revenge I think you have in mind."

"I will not let Fuzen just walk away from this," Mizuki said.

We heard sirens in the distance.

"Then don't," Mom said. "It sounds like half the Tokyo police force is on its way here. How much illegal merchandise do you think they'll find in that big boat with Fuzen's name all over it?"

"Let the police do their job," Dad said. "Try it your way, and innocent people might get hurt."

"Yeah," I agreed. "You're an eighteen-foot gorilla guy now. Kind of tough to go subtle."

"Yes," Mizuki agreed. "Let him rot in prison the rest of his life for what he's done." He destroyed a crate right next to him with his hand, some of the debris hitting us. "It seams I am now a creature without purpose. If you will excuse me, I would like some time alone with my thoughts."

He ran off the dock and he was gone.

The police arrived, and Mom and Dad talked to them, telling them everything that happened. Then we started heading back to the airship.

"A day and a half here, and all we did was keep the good guy from stopping the bad guy," Dad complained.

"Doc," Mom tried.

"It's my fault. I let myself get distracted from finding Argost. Who knows who much closer he is to finding Kur?"

"Dad, it'll be alright," I promised.

"No, it's not alright, Zak," he said. "We just gave our archenemy a massive head start. Argost couldn't have planned this any better. I can practically hear him laughing at our incompetence."

The action figure in my backpack went off again, playing Argost's evil laugh.

"Tell me I'm not the only one hearing that," Dad said.

"Busted," Sarah whispered.

Everyone looked at me.

Uh-oh.

"Unfortunately, no," Mom said.

I tried to make a run for it, but she grabbed my backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out the action figure.

Mom was shocked and mad. "You saved a baby?"

"He was somebody's baby once," I said.

"Yes," Raylee agreed. "And I bet his parents are just so proud of him."

"Doc," Mom said. "What are we going to do about this?"

He grabbed the action figure out of her hand, placed it on the dock, and blasted it with his power glove.

"Feel better now?" Mom asked him.

"No," he admitted.

"I do," I said. "That was awesome. Come on. Let's blow something else up."

" _Boom_ ," Fisk agreed.

"It's not that easy, Zak," Dad said. "Kind of think of it, it never is. If you ask me, Hibagon gave up his revenge a little to easily."

"I was thinking the same thing," Raylee said.

"Let's go."

"Where?" I asked.

"We have the scent of the Hibagon and Fuzen," Shillow said. "So we should be able to find them."

"Alright," Dad said. "Lead the way."

The animals started running through the city, and we followed them. They led us to a tall building, looking up at it.

We followed their gaze, and sure enough, the Hibagon was climbing the building.

"Wow," I said.

Zack snorted. "King Kong."

"Yep," Sarah agreed.

"Guess his vengeance wasn't so easy after all," Mom said.

"We need to get to the top of that building," Dad said.

"Let me handle that," Raylee said.

She raised her hand, it glowing white, and we were on the roof.

We looked over the edge and saw that the Hibagon had broken a window into the second-to-top-floor, and was now holding Shoji Fuzen out over the city.

"Put him down, Mizuki," Mom said.

"A very poor choice of words," he said.

"Yeah, that really was," Raylee agreed.

The Hibagon let go of Fuzen, and he fell to the ground hundreds of feet below.

I climbed onto Zon.

"Go, girl," I told her.

She launched into the air and dived down the building toward Fuzen. I was able to catch him.

"Hi," I told him. "You're going to jail."

He may have been in too much shock, so he passed out.

Zon flew us back to the roof and put him down.

"Nice work, girl," I told her.

She cooed in response.

The Hibagon climbed up to the roof, and I pulled Fuzen out of the way.

Zon kept flying in the Hibagon's face, and he didn't like it.

He hit her right into a window in the building next to us. Her wings looked hurt.

"Zon!" I cried.

"I'll go check on her," Sarah said.

She summoned her Charizard out of his Poké ball, jumped onto his back, and flew toward Zon.

Dad was carrying Fuzen away from the professor, who was chasing him. He handed him to Mom, but by then the professor caught up, so Fiskerton grabbed Fuzen and started jumping from building to building.

I slingshot my claw onto a building and swung myself to where Fisk was.

He handed Fuzen to me, and we landed next to a water tower. I climbed it with Fuzen unconscious over my shoulder and the Hibagon right behind me. Fisk got above him, climbing backwards, keeping guard of me.

Fuzen woke up just then. "What—what's happening? Where am I?"

"You're a jerk," I said. "But I'm trying to save you."

"I can save myself."

He struggled to get off, and making it hard for me to hold on.

"Don't do that," I said. "I can't hold—"

He fell off and the Hibagon caught him.

Great.

He jumped to the ground, and held Fuzen up against a wall.

Fisk and I jumped down, and the rest of us all tried to save Fuzen.

"Don't come any closer," Professor Mizuki warned. "It's over. Especially for Shoji Fuzen."

"Professor, don't do this," Dad begged.

"He took everything from me," the professor said. "He made me a monster."

"I know. You swore to take revenge on this man. I know your obsessed with stopping him. I know it's all you can think of, all you can imagine doing. I've been there. Maybe I'm still there. But nothing good could come of obsession, even if the cause is just. Shoji Fuzen may have taken your human form, but only you decide whether or not you're a monster."

"That's true," Raylee agreed. "You're the only one who decides who you are. No one else."

The professor seemed to listen to Dad. "Go. Take him."

He let him go, and he dropped to the ground.

We all sighed in relief.

Dad grabbed a rope from his pocket and tied Fuzen's hands together with it. "I hope the Tokyo P.E. likes him gift wrapped."

"You know," I told him. "You're pretty good at this when you're actually paying attention."

"Well, that ended good," Raylee said.

We had to agree with that.

We all got onto the airship, delivered Fuzen to the local police, then we helped the professor rebuild his laboratory in a cave.

"Thank you for saving what was left of the man in me," the professor told us. "And for providing the means to continue my research."

"I'm sure you'll have your machine rebuilt in no time," Dad said.

"And if you're in the market for a body," I added. "I'm willing to talk trade."

"Uh, no. No, he's not," Mom said, putting her hands on my shoulders. "But do please stay in touch. You don't have to be alone up here."

"I won't be entirely alone," he assured her.

A white tiger ran up to him, and he petted it.

"Wow," I said. "That thing's awesome. Can you make me one of those?"

I approached the tiger. "Hey, guy. Hey, buddy."

I was about to touch his head, but he roared at me.

I backed away for it. "Uh, I'm cool with the pets we have."

Sarah and Zack laughed.

We said our goodbyes and boarded our airship.

"Still wondering if this one was important enough?" Mom asked Dad.

"Ok, yes, you made your point," he admitted. "And without the need for more Fiskerton-fur sandwiches."

Busted.

"Figured that out finally, did ya?" Mom said.

"I deserved it," he said. "I let Argost take over my life as much as Hibagon did with Fuzen. I'm sorry."

The talking Argost action figure started doing its evil laugh.

I had gotten another one.

My parents looked at me.

"It's for combat practice?" I suggested.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "Sure it is."

We took off from the ground and headed home.

Today turned out to be a pretty good day.

Let's hope tomorrow will be an even better day.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV.**

After we arrived back at the Saturday's home, I went to my room, grabbed my phone out of my pocket, and dialed my best friend's number.

She picked up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Selena," I said.

"Sarah!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright. What took you so long to call me?"

"Sorry. I've been busy. So what are you doing right now?"

"I'm playing a game with Jessica and Demi."

"Oh. Put me on speakerphone."

"Ok."

I heard Selena press a button on her phone, and when she spoke again, her voice sounded a little far away.

"Alright," she said. "You're on speakerphone."

"Thank you," I said. "Hey, girls."

"Sarah, shame on you!" Jessica said. "How dare you not call us for days?"

"Well, like I just told Selena, I've been busy."

"With what?" Demi asked.

"With helping the Saturdays stop their archenemy from finding Kur and destroying all humanity."

"Who are the Saturdays?" Demi asked.

"And who or what is Kur?" Jessica asked.

"Guys, I already told you," Selena said. "The Saturdays are the people who helped out Sarah."

"Umm, yes, they are," I said. "How did you know that?"

"Zack visited me the other day and told me about it."

"Of course he did."

Selena is my twin brother's girlfriend as well.

"He also told me something else about you," Selena continued. "And I want to talk about it. But first, you explain to us exactly what Kur is."

"Zack didn't tell you?"

"It was confusing. Maybe you can explain it a little better?"

"Not likely, because we're kind of the same, but I guess I can try to."

So I explained to them what the Saturdays do for a living.

They didn't quite understand that.

Then I told them about Zak's powers.

They were just as confused as my family is about how he was born with those powers.

Then I finally told them about Kur, and they didn't understand one bit of what I said about that.

"Umm, ok," Jessica said. "That's just weird."

"Yeah," Demi agreed. "Why are you helping those people?"

"Well, for one, they're much different from most families we've met, like my family is," I said. "And what they do is interesting to us."

"Why?" Jessica asked.

"I don't know. It just is."

"Or are you just saying that because you have a crush on Zak?" Selena asked.

The other girls gasped.

My face felt hot.

"I'm guessing that's what my twin brother told you about me?" I asked Selena.

"Yep."

I sighed.

Figures.

"Well, that's actually why I called you," I said.

"Because you want to talk about it?" Selena asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh, wow, Sarah," Demi said. "You actually like him?"

"Yeah."

"Is he cute?" Jessica asked.

"Yeah."

"Can you send us a picture of what he looks like?"

"I actually do have a picture of him on my phone," I admitted. "I'll send it."

"Ok."

I had taken a picture of Zak yesterday when he wasn't looking.

Even though he looks like he's looking directly into the camera, he wasn't really. I'm surprised he didn't notice.

I sent the picture to my friends.

After a few moments, they started talking again.

"Wow," Jessica said. "He is cute. Do you think he likes you?"

"Umm, maybe," I said. "But he's kind of unpredictable."

"Don't you think that would be kind of weird, Sarah?" Selena asked.

"Why would what be weird?"

"Well, it's just, he has the same first name as your own brother. Wouldn't that be kind of awkward?"

"Oh my God, Selena. It's just a name. I'll admit, there have been a few annoying moments when some us call out their name, and it's hard for them to know which of them we're calling. But that doesn't even matter."

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry." she said. "So what do you want to talk about, exactly?"

"Umm, never mind. I'll just talk to my mom about it."

"Oh," Jessica said. "Do you want to ask us on how to 'woo' him?"

"What? No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No—"

My rant was interrupted by a knock on my door.

"I've gotta go, guys," I said into the phone. "Bye. Oh, and please delete that picture I sent you."

"No, don't," I heard Jessica say right before I hung up the phone.

I laid my phone on my bed. Then I walked over to the door, and it opened automatically.

The person standing on the other side was none other than Zak, of course.

"Hey, Sarah," he said.

"Hey, Zak," I said. "What's up?"

"Umm, well, I was wondering if we could have another sword lesson tomorrow?"

"I don't see why not. How about nine o'clock?"

"That's perfect," he said. "Well, good night."

"Good night, Zak."

I stood in the doorway for another minute and watched him walk down the hallway.

It was so hard to tell whether or not he likes me.

"He's great in some ways, isn't he?" a voice behind me said.

"Yes, he is," I said without thinking.

Then I realized who's voice it was, and I turned around to confirm it.

Yep.

I thought it was my mom who said that, but it was actually Zak's mom.

My face felt hot again. "Umm, hi, Drew. By that, I meant—"

She held up her hand to stop me. "Save it, Sarah," she said with a smile, which made me feel even more uncomfortable. "I know you like Zak, and it's kind of obvious he likes you, too."

"It is?" I asked her, surprised. "He sure doesn't seem like he does."

"Maybe not on the outside he doesn't, but on the inside he does."

I guess that kind of makes sense, but being told that by his mother was just weird.

"How did you know I like Zak?" I asked her.

"It's kind of obvious with you, too," she said. "Also, I overheard you talking to your friends just now."

"So you were eavesdropping? And how did you hear me?"

"It's my house, so I get to eavesdrop. And these walls are a little hallow."

"Oh."

"Listen, Sarah. If you and Zak start dating in the mere future, I'll allow it."

"You will?" I asked, surprised again.

"Yes. You seem like a nice and smart girl, and I'm sure Zak will be happy with you."

"But?"

"No but. Just a condition. You'll have to promise me you'll never, ever, hurt Zak."

"I promise," I said without hesitation. "But if he hurts me or my family first, then I'll have the right to hurt him back."

"And I probably won't blame you for that," Drew said. "But if you hurt Zak first, he may or may not hurt you back, but I will. Understand?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Good night."

"Good night, Drew."

I went back inside my room and laid down on top of my bed.

That was actually kind of nice for Drew to allow me and Zak to date, with a condition, of course.

I wonder what Zak would think of that.

But at least I confirmed my suspicions that he likes me, even if it was from his mother. Now I have to think about what to teach him tomorrow.

I'm thinking . . . I don't know.

I sat up, grabbed my scabbard, and unsheathed my sword. I swung it around a little bit, getting a feel of it, though I've used it many times for years.

You don't learn by studying. You learn by doing.

I remember reading that from somewhere, though I can't remember where.

I looked at my sword again.

I'm thinking . . . that it's perfect.

It may be a little too soon to do that, but it makes it more interesting, and you do only really learn something by doing it.

I'm not going to tell you what it is I have in mind, but I will tell you that me and Zak could possibly lose some blood.

Or a lot.

I decided to go to sleep now.

I'm so excited about tomorrow that I could hardly wait.

It's going to be bloody.

Very bloody.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter.**

 **That joke that Drew pulled on Doc with the Fiskerton-fur sandwich was a good joke. That was my favorite scene in that whole episode.**

 **I have good news. My reviews are finally working! The website finally fixed all of the problems with it, and I finally read all of my reviews for this story. So for all of you who wrote me _nice_ reviews, thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy reading this story despite my bad grammar.**

 **I'll update again tomorrow. Please review.**


	6. Second Sword Fighting Lesson,Realization

**Zak's POV**

I woke up at about 8:30am.

I got out of bed, got dressed, grabbed my sword in its scabbard and buckled it around my waist. Then I grabbed the claw, hung it on my belt, and I left my room to go eat breakfast.

After breakfast, I went outside to find Sarah. But when I got to the spot where she and I were going to have our lesson, she wasn't there. So I waited for her.

She came out of the house ten minutes later, followed by her mom, brother, and pets. Sarah was wearing a pink outfit today. Raylee and Zack, just casual.

"Hey, Zak," Sarah said. "Sorry I'm a little late. I was just deciding what to teach you today."

"That's ok," I said. "I'm pretty sure whatever your going to teach me, I can do."

Sarah smirked. "We'll see about that."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, even though this is only our second lesson, I decided that since you're pretty good at figuring out problems by yourself, that for today you teach yourself on how to use a sword."

"I don't understand."

"Well . . ." Sarah unsheathed her sword really quick and faced me. "I thought that you could learn more with your sword yourself by fighting me."

She held up her sword in a challenging way.

"Wait," I said. "You want me to fight you? But I barely know how to use my sword."

"You learn by doing. Then you can come up with your own moves instead of moves your teacher tells you."

"Ok. But are you going to go easy on me?"

"Of course not," Sarah replied. "How are you going to learn if I go easy on you?"

I sighed. "Fine." I unsheathed my sword. "Are there any rules?"

"Nope. Just do your best. My mom and twin brother are here so that they can heal any injuries we get when we're done. Or they'll just be healing your wounds."

"You're going to actually hurt me?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yep. I'm going to swing and stab you whenever I get the chance. You can do it, too, because that's what you do with a sword."

"I'm not going to do that."

"You're gonna to have to. Are you ready to start?"

I lifted my sword in reply.

She nodded, lifting her sword. Then, without warning, she charged.

I barely had enough time to deflect her sword before she could slice my head off. The blow was so hard that I fell to the ground, landing on my butt.

Sarah swung at me again, and I held it with my sword. She pushed down into me, getting heavier, and my sword was get closer and closer to my chest.

I had to think on how I was going to get out of this fast.

I pushed up just enough to roll to the left, and got out from having two swords cut my chest open. I got up on my knees, and for some reason, I swung my sword to my left.

Sarah screamed in pain.

I looked at her and noticed that her leg was bleeding. She clutched one of her hands on the cut.

Why did I do that?

Sarah looked at me and noticed my confusion.

"Your instincts kicked in and you swung at me, Zak," she explained. "Sometimes you do stuff without even thinking."

"Oh," I said. "Are you ok?"

Bad idea.

She slashed at me, and I ducked my head without even thinking again.

"You see what I mean?" Sarah asked. "You didn't even realize what you just did until after you did it, right?"

I nodded. "But I understand instincts. I'm instinctive. I just didn't think that it would happen with something I barely know how to use."

She swung at me again, but this time, I didn't dodge it, and she made a big cut on my left arm. It began to bleed.

I screamed in pain and clutched my arm.

"You didn't see that one coming, did you?" Sarah said.

"Does it look like I did?" I replied.

She laughed, then stood up from the ground and pointed her sword at me. "It's ok. Your instincts don't always work. But we're still not done."

I rolled to the side quickly before she could cut me again.

I stood up, held up my sword, and charged. I slashed at her, but she side-stepped and tried to swing at me, but I deflected it. She kept hacking and slashing, and I kept deflecting one after the other.

Sarah was breathing heavily and so was I.

She tried a swing at my head, but I side-stepped and swung at her side. She didn't move fast enough, so it made a pretty deep cut and started to bleed.

Sarah was sweating, but she wasn't giving up.

She swung over and over again, but she kept missing. I swung and never missed.

She tried once more by swinging at my legs, and I deflected. But what I did next I wish I never did.

I remembered what Sarah taught me the other day by cutting that net while holding my sword with either one or two hands.

Well, this time, Sarah was the net.

I held my sword with two hands, so when I deflected her sword, I did it sideways, the same way I did with the net. Then I did a spin, held my sword high, and swung straight down on Sarah.

Luckily, it was between her shoulder and her neck. Unluckily, the blade went farther down than I intended it to.

Sarah screamed in pain and fell to the ground, a lot of blood pouring out of her.

I stood frozen.

After a few more seconds of watching Sarah practically bleed to death, I dropped my sword, went to her side, and fell to my knees. She started to look pale.

"Zak," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

I put my hand on top of hers. "I'm here."

"You're forgetting something."

"What?"

"Come closer."

I did what she said, and my face was only inches from hers. Then I felt a sharp pain in my gut.

I didn't realize she still had her sword in her hand.

"Don't ever let your guard down," she said.

She pulled her sword out of my stomach and passed out from the blood loss.

I took my hand off hers and laid it on my stomach. My shirt was drenched with my blood.

I was breathing hard and was starting to feel queasy. I collapsed right next to Sarah.

My eyelids were starting to close, but I tried to keep them open. I was afraid that if my eyes closed, they would never open again. I had to keep fighting, but I just couldn't take the pain any longer.

I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I woke up breathing hard.

I looked around at my surroundings and realized I was in the infirmary. I was wearing a pair of fresh clothes, and there were bandages on my left arm and around my stomach.

"Hey," Sarah said.

I didn't notice she was sitting on the infirmary bed next to mine, so I was a little startled. "Sarah."

I jumped off the bed, ignoring the pain, went to her, sat down next to her, and checked her shoulder. It was wrapped in bandages and some other spots on her body were wrapped as well.

I touched her shoulder, and she winced.

"Sorry," I said. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Are you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. But why did you stab me in the stomach? Was it payback for, accidentally, slicing you in the shoulder?"

"Yes. But I also did it because you let your guard down. You can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because that will happen." She gestured to my stomach. "Or worse. That's another thing I was trying to teach you, Zak. If you let your guard down on your enemies, they will hurt you whenever they get the chance to. And they might even kill you. Never get that close to your enemy, even if he's been hurt. You don't know if he can still fight or not, and you don't want to find out by getting close to him if he still has a weapon in his hand or lying next to him. I practically learned that the same way you did."

"Wait. So I'm just suppose to leave him there to bleed to death?" I asked.

"No," Sarah replied. "If you can get the weapon out of his hand or out of his reach, then you can help him, ok?"

"Ok. Did you learn that from your mom?"

"Sort of. My mom did tell me that, but I forgot it and I ended up getting really hurt by my evil clone, Danielle, for trying to help her. And I've met your enemies. They will do just that to you when they get the chance. Maybe even worse."

"Yeah," I agreed. "They have tried before, and you saved me from them doing so."

Sarah smiled. "That's what I do. But can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"After you cut my shoulder, why did you look so scared? You looked like you were gonna cry."

"I did?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Why was that?"

"Well, I've never done something like that before. After I did that to you, it hurt me."

"It hurt you?"

"Yeah. But I'm not sure why it hurt me. Did it hurt you the very first time you did it?"

"Well, to be honest, you're the first person I've actually been able to do that to," Sarah admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I've never been able to do something that fatal to my twin brother, or Danielle either. They're just too fast for me. And when I did that to you, it didn't really hurt me at all."

"How come?"

"Because it was a survival test for both of us, and we have to prove that we're not afraid to do that to someone if it means we die if we don't do it."

"So, are you saying that I failed the test?" I asked.

"It was your first time," Sarah said. "You did better than I expected, and you didn't show that you were scared until after you did that. So, I wouldn't say you failed. I would say you did well."

"Umm, thanks? But can we not do something like that again?"

"You need to practice on how to fight with your sword, Zak. But I can promise you that we don't have to hurt each other like that again. Deal?"

"Deal."

Sarah laid her head on my shoulder. It felt nice.

We were quiet for a while.

The silence was broken a few minutes later when the door to the infirmary opened, and me and Sarah moved away from each other quickly.

My parents entered the room.

"Zak, you're alright," Mom said. She embraced me in a hug.

"Of course I'm alright," I said.

"We saw what happened," Dad said.

"You were watching us?" I asked, a little scared.

He nodded. "Yes. We were watching through the window. After you two passed out, we ran outside and took you both here to the infirmary. Raylee bandaged your wounds with special healing cloths."

"We were really worried that you weren't going to make it after Sarah . . . umm, you know," Mom said.

"Mom," I said. "She didn't do it on purpose."

"Well, I kind of did," Sarah admitted. "I was just teaching him that if he let his guard down on his enemies like that, that they would do something like that to him whenever they get the chance to."

"I understand that," Mom said. "But you didn't really have to do that. You could of just warned him."

"I guess I did take it a little too far. But I probably also did it as payback for him making a gash in my shoulder."

"I said I'm sorry," I argued.

"Well, at least you both are alright," Mom said. "But can you two promise me that you won't do something like that again?"

"We already made that promise with each other," I said.

"Good. But Sarah, it's good that you taught Zak that. He's going to need to learn it."

"I know," she said.

"Well, we'll leave you two alone now," Mom said. "I'm sure you both want to be alone together."

She smiled at the two of us, then she and Dad started to leave the room.

I was confused by the way Mom said that last part, and I noticed Sarah was blushing.

"Hey," I called. "What did you mean by that?"

But she and Dad were already gone.

I turned toward Sarah. "What did she mean by that?"

"Umm, nothing," she replied. "Why did you look kind of scared when your parents told us that they saw what happened?"

"Well, I thought they were going to say that I can't learn how to use a sword anymore if this was going to keep happening to me," I said.

"Well, they didn't."

"I know, and I'm glad."

Sarah got off the bed and tried to stretch her arms, but she winced in pain, clutching her shoulder.

I got up from the bed and went to her side. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she said. "I just can't move my arm. It hurts too much."

"How long do you think it will be until it fully heals?"

"A few days at least. Same for yours."

"A few days?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Since our wounds are wrapped in healing cloths, there's healing power in them, obviously, and it will heal, like, a hundred times faster than in regular bandages."

"That's cool."

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to go and look for my mom."

"Ok."

"See you later. Bye."

"Bye."

Sarah started walking to the door.

With every step she took away from me, I felt sadder and sadder. When she was gone, I felt really sad.

I've been feeling that way for a while now, and I couldn't understand why.

It had something to do with Sarah, but I didn't know what.

I needed to talk to someone about it, but who?

Maybe Fisk? No. I don't think he would know anything. I'm afraid to talk to my parents. Zack, maybe? Yeah. I'll go talk to him. Yeah. I'll go talk to him.

I left the infirmary and went to look for him.

I decided to check the room he was sleeping in, but he wasn't there. Then I went and checked the living room. Wasn't there. The kitchen? No. The family room? No.

I decided to see if he was outside, and sure enough, he was.

He was heading toward the woods, along with two cheetahs, one on either side of him. I think they were Toto and Chewie.

I ran to catch up to them.

"Zack, wait up!" I called.

I stopped running once I was a couple feet from him.

He stopped and turned around to face me. "Hey. Do you need something?"

"Umm, kind of," I said. "I need to talk to you about something. It's about Sarah."

Zack smirked. "Ok. Come on. We'll talk in the forest."

He started walking toward the woods and I followed beside him.

"Why are you smirking?" I asked him.

"No reason," he replied. "So what about Sarah do you want to talk about?"

"Well, its just, every time I'm around her, I feel . . . I feel . . ." I faltered.

"You feel what?" Zack asked.

I smiled. "Happy. But when I'm not around her, I feel sad, and I don't know why that is. Do you think you can tell me why I feel that way toward Sarah?"

Zack smirked again. "Zak, don't you think it's obvious what you're feeling?"

"Umm, no."

"Think about it."

I thought for a moment, but couldn't think of any reason. "I don't know."

Zack sighed. "Ok. The reason you feel sad when you're not around Sarah is because you like her and you want to be with her."

"I like her?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"What do you think I mean?"

"I don't know what you mean."

He sighed again. "Ok. Umm, let's take your parents for instance. You like Sarah the way your parents like each other."

"You mean love?" I asked.

"Well, not love necessarily. In your case, anyway. I mean that you like her more than a friend. That you want to be more than her friend. You want to be her boyfriend."

"Her boyfriend?"

"Yeah," Zack said. "Because you like her. Or, in other words, you have a crush on her."

Now I understood. "So you think that that's how I feel toward Sarah?"

"It's gotta be the only explanation," Zack replied.

"Yeah, I guess so. How do you know so much about that?"

"Because 1.) I watch a lot of TV, and 2.) I dealt with that myself last year."

"With who?"

"Her name is Selena," Zack explained. "Me and Sarah have known her since she was born. She's the same age as us and is only two days younger. I don't remember exactly when I started having a crush on her, but I knew that I didn't want to just be her friend. I wanted to be more than that. I told Sarah that. I mean, since we're twins, we're like each other's best friend. But anyway, I told Sarah about it, and it turned out that Selena felt that way about me as well, and she told Sarah that, too. So one day she took me and Selena somewhere private, completely ambushed us by telling us that we both liked each other, and left us alone to talk. And that was the day our relationship began, and we're still together to this very day. Me and Selena can't thank Sarah enough for that, even if it was embarrassing and we both wanted to kill her, which also helped us talk."

"Yeah," Chewie said. "But she regrets doing that."

"What did you just say?" Zack asked him.

"Nice going, Chewie," Toto said, whacking him in the head with his paw.

"Sorry," he said, embarrassed.

It's weird seeing that on a cheetah.

"Did you guys just say that Sarah regrets helping me and Selena get together?" Zack asked them.

"No," they both said in unison.

"I just heard you say that."

"Yeah, so did I," I said.

"We were kidding," Chewie said.

"Are you sure?" Zack asked.

"Yes," they both said.

Zack and I made eye contact, and we were both not convinced. But I knew that Chewie and Toto weren't going to admit it, so I decided to change the subject.

"Anyway," I said. "So the reason I feel happy when I'm around Sarah, and feel sad when I'm not, is because I like her. Does she like me that way too?"

"What makes you say that?" Zack replied with another question.

"Well, I think she does."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because earlier in the infirmary, she laid her head on my shoulder. And when my parents were in there, my mom said that she was going to leave me and Sarah alone because she was pretty sure that me and her wanted to be alone together. Sarah obviously knew what she meant, because she started blushing. But I didn't know what my mom meant. Now I do."

"That's a good reason for thinking that Sarah likes you," Zack admitted.

"So, she does like me?" I asked.

"I don't know."

"Well, don't you think that since you told Sarah that you like Selena that she should tell you if she likes me or not?"

"She doesn't have to tell me anything, Zak. I told Sarah that because I wanted to. She's the number one person I talk to about stuff. Well, at least, before me and Selena got together. Now she's the second person I would talk to about certain stuff. So I don't think she would tell me if she likes you or not. And even if I did know, it's not for me to say."

"Ok," I said. "So she probably told the number one person that she would talk to about anything if she likes me or not. Who would that person be?"

"Our mom," Zack said. "Sarah talks to her about everything. She's an easy person to talk to. But if you ask her if Sarah likes you, she's going to also tell you that it's not for her to say. You're gonna have to find out on your own."

"How?"

"By asking Sarah herself. Yes, it will be hard and awkward, but sometimes it's worth it."

Great. I'm not even sure if I will have the courage to ask her, but I really want to know.

Zack stopped walking and turned around, staring at the house. So did Toto and Chewie.

"Sarah's calling you," Toto said.

I wasn't sure who he was talking to, but Zack nodded.

"I heard," he said.

"I didn't hear her," I said.

"Well, we have super hearing. We can hear from very far away, unlike mortals."

I didn't like him calling me "mortal."

"I guess I should go see what she wants," Zack said. "See you later, Zak."

He and the cheetah brothers started toward my house.

"Hey, Zack," I called.

He stopped and turned to face me. "Yeah?"

"Can you not tell Sarah what we just talked about?"

"There's a good chance she already knows."

"How would she know something about me if I just realized it myself?"

"She deals with this kind of stuff a lot at school. So she wouldn't be surprised to find out that you like her."

"Well, either way, can you not tell her?"

"I'll talk to you later," was all he said.

He turned away and ran toward my house with Toto and Chewie behind him.

He didn't answer my question, which practically meant that he was going to tell Sarah about what we talked about.

Great. Just great.

Well, at least I found out why I've been feeling so weird around her for the past few days.

Now I just wonder what she'll think about it.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

Well, I can't say that I didn't like the time in the infirmary with Zak, because I did.

When I laid my head on his shoulder, it felt very comforting. And the concern in his face when he cut my shoulder showed that he really cares about me. It was so sweet.

After the time with Zak in the infirmary, I went to talk to my mom and she told me that she thinks that he really cares about me, too.

I decided to go looking for my twin brother.

I asked Mom if she knew where he was, and she said that he was outside, so I went looking for him.

When I was about to walk through the front door, it all of a sudden opened automatically. I noticed it was Zack coming from the other side, and he was running, Toto and Chewie behind him.

So, naturally, he ran right into me. Pretty hard too.

We both fell to the ground with him on top of me.

"Zack," I said. "Watch where you're going."

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to run into you."

He got off of me and helped me up from the ground.

"Why were you running?" I asked him.

"I heard you were looking for me," he replied. "So I ran to see what you wanted."

"Oh. Ok. Well, I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to have a sword fight before we go to bed."

"Uh, are you sure you can?" He gestured to my bandaged shoulder.

"It's on the left side. I fight with my right."

"Yeah, no. You're going to let that heal completely first. Besides, I need to talk to you about Zak."

"Umm, ok. Why?"

"Let's go somewhere private."

"Ok. How about my room?"

"That's perfect."

So we headed to my room, and Toto and Chewie followed us.

Once we got there, I sat on my bed, Zack sat next to me, and Toto and Chewie laid between us.

"So, what do you want to tell me about Zak?" I asked him.

"Well, after you and him were in the infirmary, he came to talk to me about something."

"Ok. What about?"

"It was about you. He told me that every time he's around you, he feels happy. But when he's not, he feels sad, and he didn't understand why that was, so he asked me if I knew why."

"Wow," I said. "Did you tell him why?"

"Yes," he said. "But he didn't understand at first. So I had to explain it to him. He's not as smart as we think he is."

"Well, Zack, Drew told me that you and I are the very first kids he's ever met. He's only been around adults his entire life. He does act like a kid, but he's more serious than a kid his age would be. He doesn't have brothers or sisters—"

"Well, he considers Fiskerton and Komodo his brothers," Zack said.

"Yeah, because they're his family," I said. "But they're not human. They're animals. Zak can't really talk to them about human life. He can only talk to his parents about it, and most kids are afraid or embarrassed to talk to their parents about what most people deal with in life. Even though they're probably the best people to talk to about it, you don't like it. But Zak has no choice but to talk to his parents, or he would have to figure out on his own because I'm pretty sure that Fiskerton or Komodo won't know. But now he has us to talk to. I mean, he can still talk to his parents if he wants, but like today, he wanted to talk to you about why he feels weird around me, right? Instead of his parents?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. My powers are telling me that he was afraid to talk to them."

"Exactly. I feel kind of sorry for him, being around adults and always having to act mature."

"I know. He's not that much, but he needs to be less serious and enjoy being a kid. He's not going to be one forever. When he's an adult, that's when he should start acting more serious. But not now. And we're gonna help him with that, right?"

"Right. But, Sarah, you talk to Mom all the time about pretty much everything."

"Well, that's because she is very easy to talk to," I said. "Especially about dating. I mean, she doesn't embarrass us like most parents do. And she watches and reads a lot of romance."

"Yeah," Toto agreed. "And it took her a few years before she finally got the romance she wanted."

"Yeah," Zack said. "But when did you talk to Drew?"

"Last night," I said. "She overheard me talking to Selena, Jessica, and Demi on the phone about me liking Zak."

"That couldn't have been good."

"Well, it was better than I thought it would be."

"What did she say about that?" Zack asked.

"Well, she wasn't that surprised that I like him. She also thought that it was obvious he liked me too. And she said that if me and him do start a relationship together, that she will let us date each other as long as I promise to never hurt him."

"I'm guessing you said that you wouldn't?"

"Of course. But I did warn her that if he hurts me or my family first, I will hurt him back."

"What did she say?"

"That I would be right to do that," I said. "And she probably won't blame me for hurting him back. But he would also have the right to hurt me back if I hurt him first, and I wouldn't blame him."

"Wow," Zack said. "I bet Zak would like that."

"Yeah."

"He actually asked me if you like him."

"What did you say?" I asked, a little scared.

"I asked him why he thought that, and he gave me a couple of good reasons. You laid your head on his shoulder in the infirmary?"

"He told you that?"

"Yeah. Why did you do that?"

"I guess you could say I was kind of in the moment. Did he tell you if he liked it or not?"

"No," Zack said. "But I read his mind, and he thought it felt nice."

"Ok. But what did you say when he asked you if I liked him?"

"I lied to him and said that I didn't know if you liked him or not. But if I did, which I do, it's not for me to say and he would have to ask you himself if you like him or not."

"That was a good response."

"Thank you. But he thought that you should tell me if you like him since I told you that I liked Selena."

"You told him about that?" I asked.

"Yeah. I also told him that you helped us get together."

"And you're welcome for that."

"Yeah. And speaking about that, do you regret helping me and Selena get together?"

Oh, God.

"Umm, what makes you say that?" I asked carefully.

"Well, Toto and Chewie said that you do regret doing that," Zack said.

I sent them a death glare.

"Zack, we were kidding about that," Toto assured him.

"You didn't sound like you were kidding."

"Well, we were," Chewie said.

"Me and Zak were not convinced," he said.

I'm going to kill Toto and Chewie when I'm done talking to Zack, and they can tell I'm going to by the looks on their faces.

"Zack, I don't regret helping you and Selena get together," I lied. "You two are perfect for each other."

"Well, then, why did Toto and Chewie say you did?" Zack asked.

"I don't know. I guess they meant it as a joke."

"Well, it's not funny."

"No," I agreed.

"But anyway, Zak asked me not to tell you about that."

"And you lied to him, saying that you wouldn't?"

"No. I just said that you probably already know that he likes you. And I didn't want to lie to him, so I just said that I'll talk to him later. And I went to go look for you."

"So he knew you were going to tell me."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"And he doesn't like it."

"Nope."

"Well, do you think he'll talk to me about it?"

"Maybe," Zack said. "But probably not for a while. He needs time to process that."

"Yeah," I agreed. "So do you want to have a sword fight before we go to bed?"

"Sarah, I know you won't be able to use your sword since Zak injured you pretty bad, and I know your shoulder hurts when you move your arm."

"Ok. So I won't be able to do that for a couple days. But what did you think about that sword fight between me and Zak?"

"I thought it was more gruesome than it is with you and me," he said.

"Yeah, I guess it was," I admitted. "But Zak did great, don't you think?"

"Yeah."

"So, I guess I'll see you in the morning, then?"

"Ok. Good night."

"Good night."

He started walking toward the door, and I noticed Toto and Chewie were getting up to follow him, but I pointed my finger down at them and mouthed _Stay_.

The door opened, and Zack was about to walk out when he noticed Toto and Chewie weren't following.

"Are you guys coming?" he asked them.

"We'll be there in a minute," Chewie said nervously.

"Ok."

He left the room and the door closed behind him.

I turned to the cheetah brothers. "Why the hell did you guys tell him that I regret helping him and Selena get together?"

"Well, you do," Chewie said.

"I know I do, but not as much as I use to. You didn't need to tell him that. You could've really messed things up between me and Zack."

"We're sorry," Toto said. "But why don't you talk to him about it? Your mom thinks you should."

"Because, guys, I knew something like this was going to happen between us someday, and I have to get used to it whether I like it or not. I can't change it."

"You can try to."

"Well, I'm not going to."

"Whatever. Can we go now?"

"Yes. Just don't let that happen again."

"We won't," they both said in unison.

They got off the bed and left the room without another word.

I guess I should explain.

Well, me and Zack use to hang out with each other a lot like we were true best friends, but when he and Selena started dating, they would spend everyday together, which meant that me and Zack would spend less time together. And I guess, you could say, I hated Selena at first for taking my brother, my twin brother, and best friend away from me, and I regretted helping them get together.

But I eventually realized that I shouldn't hate Selena because of that. It's not her fault.

When me and Zack were little, we both knew that, someday, there would be someone or something that would separate us every once in a while, and that day came for me last year. And that someone was Selena.

I felt lonely for a long time because Selena was also my best friend. She's a better friend than Jessica and Demi are, no offense to them. So I kind of lost two best friends last year.

I'm hoping that, if me and Zak are going to date, that it starts soon, then maybe I wouldn't feel that way anymore.

* * *

 **I hoped you guys liked this chapter. The real title of this chapter was** Second Sword Fighting Lesson and Realization **, but I guess you can't title a chapter with too many letters in it.**

 **Yeah, the sword fight between Sarah and Zak was probably overdramatic, but I wanted it to be that way. As for their sword lessons, this is actually the last one they have because they're getting more occupied with what's happening in their lives right now.**

 **I'll update again tomorrow. Please review.**


	7. The Ice Caverns of Ellef Ringnes

**Zak's POV.**

Well, the other day was interesting.

First, me and Sarah had a sword fight. Second, I sliced her shoulder with my sword, then she got me back by stabbing me in the stomach. Third, I realized that I have a crush on her.

That was a really crazy day.

Right now, me, Sarah, Fiskerton, and Zack were in Anchor Island, New Zealand, watching a cryptid, and I was recording its calling sound while my parents, their mother, and our other pets were on the airship.

"The call of the Waitakere," I said in a fake British accent. "Sweet sounds of nature's beautifulous majesty."

 _Beautifulous?_ Fisk asked me.

"It's a word," I said. "In British."

"Whether it's a word or not, I think it's neither sweet nor beautiful," Zack said.

"I think it's actually kind of cute," Sarah said. "The cryptid. Not its call. I agree with my twin brother on that. And your accent sucks."

"Well, I think it's sweet," I said, still in a British accent. "And speaking of which, let us drop this final piece in our cryptid noise club mix for sooth and what not."

The sound mixed well with the other cryptid sounds I recorded, and together it made a kind of hip-hop sound.

"Well, it's catchy," Sarah admitted, moving her head to the rhythm.

"It's smashing," I agreed.

I stood up and started to do a kind of dance, doing different things with the claw, like drum stick, baton, air guitar, samurai sword. Fiskerton joined me. Sarah and Zack just watched us and were laughing.

"Hi there," I heard my mom say.

I wasn't watching where I was going, and I bumped into her.

I fell to the ground and threw the claw into the air. Mom caught it before it could hit the ground.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, hi, Mom," I stammered. "Fisk, Sarah, Zack, and I were just, uh—"

I looked over at them and saw Fisk lying against a boulder with a flower in his hand.

 _What? Me?_ he asked innocently.

"Yes, you," I said.

"Uh-huh," Mom said. "Can you tell me what this is?" She gestured toward the claw in her hand.

"The claw," I said.

"The hand of Tsul Kalu," she corrected. "Powerful, ancient artifact. Scientifically honed adaptive weapon. Amplipher for your cryptid influencing power. Any of these would be correct answers."

"So it was multiple choice, or . . . ah—"

"Drum stick. Baton. Air guitar, samurai sword. These are all things it most definitely is not."

"Sorry, Mom."

Fisk stood next to me now, shaking his head. Then he gave Mom the flower he was holding.

"Thank you, Fiskerton," she said and accepted it greatly. She turned back to me and gave the back the claw. "Alright. Take care of your stuff, ok? Come on back to the airship."

After she walked away, I turned toward Fisk and pointed a warning finger at him. He seemed confused by it.

Sarah and Zack started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked them.

"Nothing," they both said in unison with smiles on their faces, then they followed my mom toward the airship.

They must be identical twins, except for the fact that one of them is a boy and the other is a girl.

Fisk and I started to follow as well.

After we got back to the airship, we went to the control room where the rest of our family was. We noticed Dad talking to someone on the video phone and I recognized him.

"Zak, growing like a weed, I see," the man on the video phone said.

"Hey, Dr. Cheechoo," I said.

"Is he another one of the secret scientists?" Sarah asked, whispering in my ear.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Paul," Dad said. "Tell Drew what you told me."

"Well, I'm on Ellef Ringnes, way up over the Arctic circle," he said. "My team's been digging through one of the islands unusual piercement domes."

"Oh, dangerous ground, Paul," Mom said. "Those domes are focal points for mystic energy. Inuit Shamans used them as super natural burial mounds."

"Hypothetically," Dad said.

"I don't know how hypothetical it is anymore, Doc," Dr. Cheechoo said. "My team may have disturbed one of those mounds on the dig and, well, set something loose."

"Like what?" I asked.

"The local fishermen are saying the Amarok is back. Mean anything to you? Oh, hold on. They gave me a drawing."

He held it up in front of the screen for us to see, and it looked like some kind of species of wolf. I looked over at Shillow, sitting next to Raylee, and it looked sort of similar to her, but she didn't seem to like it that much.

I turned back to the screen. "Nasty."

"I didn't get a good look," Paul said. "But if this thing is as dangerous as the fishermen say—"

We heard a sound in the background. Paul turned away from the screen for a moment, and then his expression became kind of scared.

He turned back to us. "How soon can you get here?" he asked frantically.

"We'll try to be there as fast as we can," Dad said.

"Hurry!"

The call got disconnected.

Dad went to the controls of the airship, and off we went.

"Oh, great," Raylee said sarcastically. "It's the middle of summer and we're going all the way to Antarctica, the coldest continent on the planet. Yay."

"Umm, Raylee," Mom said. "We're actually going to be near the North Pole."

"Oh. That's right. He did say he was over the Arctic Circle, didn't he? But I'm pretty sure it's still going to be very cold there."

"Yeah, we know how much you hate the cold," Sarah said.

"Right."

After we arrived at Ellef Ringnes, there was a strong blizzard going on outside, and it was rocking the airship a little.

"Those winds must be over fifty miles per hour," Dad said.

"It's not even storm season, is it?" I said.

"There's never a season for a storm this bad."

"The airship can't take much more of this," Mom said at the other controls. "I'm gonna have to put her down."

She landed the airship on the snowy flat ground.

"Still have a kilometer dispulstation," she said, turning to Dad. "Up for a stroll in the breeze, love?"

She and Dad stood up from their controls.

I didn't like the sound of that.

"Wait," I said. "Am I not part of this team anymore?"

"We'll bring Dr. Cheechoo back here," Dad said. "There's no way Komodo and Zon could make the trip in this weather."

I looked over at them, and they were shaking uncontrollably. Komodo tried to turn invisible, but his shaking made it fade in and out.

"Whoa, guys, easy," I told them. "What's going on?"

"They're cold-blooded, Zak," Mom said. "The weather agitates them."

"Hey," Raylee said. "Do you two mind if I come along with you?"

"No," Mom said. "You can come along if you'd like."

"Ok. Thanks."

"But Mom, you hate the cold," Sarah said.

"I know," she admitted. "But I've never been here before, and I liked to look around a little bit. Plus, with my powers, I can heat up the inside of my coat and stay warm. I can do the same for you guys, too."

"Can we come too?" Toto asked.

"Umm, I don't think it's good to bring all seven of you," Raylee said. "So how about just Shillow, Amber, and Kimbia come, and the rest of you just stay here with the kids, ok?"

The cubs didn't seem to like that idea, but they nodded. "Ok."

All of us, meaning not the animals, left the room to go put on our snow gear.

After we were done, we waved goodbye to my parents, Raylee, Pikachu who was riding on Raylee's head because she kept falling off her shoulder, and Amber, Shillow, and Kimbia.

"We'll be back soon," Dad said. "Be smart."

They disappeared into the blizzard.

I looked over at Fisk, and remembered what he did to me earlier.

He wasn't looking at me, so I took the opportunity to grab some snow into my hands to make a snowball and I threw it at him. It him right in the face.

"That was payback for the island dance," I told him. "I can't believe you sold me out, Mama's boy."

He threw a snowball into my face, knocking me to the ground. Fisk laughed. Sarah and Zack did too.

"Oh, it's on," I said.

I made another snowball and was about to throw it at him, but Sarah beat me to it. She hit him in the face, and he was very surprised by that.

"Gotcha," she said.

Then she was suddenly hit in the chest by another snowball, knocking her to the ground.

"I gotcha too," Zack said.

Sarah stood up and grabbed some snow. "I'll get you back for that."

He just smiled. "Bring it."

She threw her snowball at him, but he stopped it with his hand. It glowed red, and the snowball melted.

"Hey," Sarah told him. "No using your power. That's cheating."

"Fine," he said.

Suddenly, all four of us started getting hit by snowballs.

"Hey, quit it," I said to the attacker.

The throwing stopped momentarily and we noticed the cheetah cubs were the ones throwing them. I completely forgot that they were there.

"How did you guys throw those snowballs?" I asked, confused.

"With our tails," Chewie replied.

"Yeah, and we're going to do it again," Honey said. "So you guys better run."

They picked up more snowballs with their tails.

I turned toward Sarah and Zack. "Run?"

They nodded. "Yes."

They took off in the other direction, me and Fisk running to catch up with them.

I heard the cubs behind us, and they were throwing their snowballs one after another.

"Ok, Zack, forget what I said," Sarah said while running beside him. "Use your powers. Quickly."

They stopped running and turned to face the cubs. Fisk and I stopped next to them. The cubs stopped running too.

"Stand aside," Zack said.

Sarah pulled us a few feet from him.

"What's he going to do?" I asked her, whispering in her ear.

"Just watch," she whispered back.

Zack raised his arms on either side of him, and his hands were glowing white. He was looking straight at the cubs, who looked ready for anything.

A whole bunch of snowballs formed and floated in the air behind him, then he threw his arms in front of him and the snowballs launched themselves at the cubs.

Not one missed any of them, like they were magnetic to them. They were running around, slashing at the snowballs, biting them, but more and more kept coming. The rest of us were all laughing at them.

Eventually the cubs were able to jump on Zack to stop the snowballs from attacking them.

"Ok, ok. But you guys started it first," he said after they knocked him to the ground and started licking his face. "Your tongues are cold."

Sarah, Fisk, and I laughed. But that was a mistake.

Three of the cubs turned and jumped on us, knocking us also to the ground and licking our faces. Their tongues really were cold.

"Ok, guys," Sarah said. "You can get off us now."

The cubs got off of us and we all started laughing.

"Wait," I said, realizing something. "Where's the airship?"

That got all of our attentions.

We stood up and looked around, but the blizzard made it hard to see very far.

"I can't even see it," I said. "We should probably be worried about that."

"You think?" Sarah said sarcastically.

Everyone was distracted by looking for the airship that I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.

I grabbed the claw, slingshoting it into the snow. The claw closed around it. I pulled it up and threw the snow out of it.

"Hey!" Sarah yelled.

I turned toward her and saw the snow had hit her face and some fell down her jacket.

"What was that for?" she asked me.

"Sorry," I said. "I meant to hit Fiskerton."

She rolled her eyes.

I looked at the claw in my hand and noticed that it was covered in ice.

"Oh, great," I muttered, shaking it. "It won't open for some— That snowball must've frozen it up." I tried shaking it some more to get the ice off. "Come on." Then I heard something break.

The ice had broken off it, but it surprised me so much that I accidentally dropped it and it skittered away on the snow at the top of a cliff that lead down into a cavern that I didn't even notice before now.

The claw fell down into it.

"No!"

I launched myself at it to tried and grab it, but I, instead, fell along with it.

"Zak!" I heard Sarah call.

I felt her grab my leg, but it only slowed my fall and she fell over the cliff. I felt something wrap around my waist, and it stopped my fall, putting Sarah below me, her holding on desperately to my leg.

I realized that the thing that wrapped around me was a tail. It started pulling us up. Zack held his hand out to me. I grabbed it and he pulled us up the rest of the way.

But I, unfortunately, didn't have the claw.

"Oh, thank you, Kika and Zack," Sarah said, relieved.

"You're welcome," they both said.

Sarah turned toward me. "Are you alright, Zak?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but I lost the claw. Mom and Dad are gonna pop a vein."

"Maybe we can go down there and look for it," she suggested.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "We can probably just climb down."

"Or maybe we can use our tails to get you guys down there and you guys can catch us," Chewie said.

"Can't you guys fly?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, yeah. I guess we could do that."

"Then let's go," I said.

Fiskerton protested.

"Come on, Fisk," I said. "I gotta find this thing."

He conceded.

The cubs each wrapped their tails around one of us and lowered us down in the cavern. It was really dark. We reached the floor of the cavern and the cubs joined us a minute later.

"Hey, Zack," Sarah said. "Do you think you can summon some light for us?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Just give me a sec."

His hand glowed white and a circular yellow light floated from it, and it enlightened the entire cavern.

"Cool," I said.

"Thanks," Zack said.

I looked around the room, but saw no sign of the claw.

"Where could it be?" I wondered.

I started walking around, hoping to find it somewhere, the light floating in front of me. The others followed along.

After a while or so, we entered an area that went in several directions around us.

"No, no, no," I said. "Come on. I do not need this. Where's the claw?"

"It's gotta be around here somewhere," Chewie said.

"Well, at least it's not as cold down here as it is up there," Honey said.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Sarah said.

Then she stopped walking suddenly and stared straight into the distance.

"What's wrong, Sarah?" Zack asked her.

"Something's coming," she said.

"How can you tell? You don't even have your powers yet. Unless . . ." He faltered and also stared into the distance.

"Unless what?" I asked.

Then I heard growling.

I looked across the cavern where Sarah and Zack were looking and noticed a cryptid emerging from the darkness.

"The Amarok," Sarah said.

I wanted to ask her how she knew it was there, but I figured now wasn't the time to do it. So instead, I activated my powers.

"Nice, Amarok," I said to it. "You don't want to hurt us."

"Actually, Zak," Sarah said. "It does want to hurt us."

And, to prove her point, the Amarok stood up on its hind legs like a human, walked over to us, then it slashed its claws at us.

Fiskerton picked me up just in time before it could hurt me and backed away quickly, while Sarah, Zack, and the cheetah cubs dove to the side. Fisk put me back down on the ground.

"My cryptid powers aren't calming it down," I said. "I really wish I hadn't dropped the claw."

"Maybe I can calm it," Sarah said.

"How?"

"Just shut up and watch." She turned to the Amarok. "You don't want to attack us. We're not going to hurt you."

It didn't seem convinced. It swiped at her.

She unsheathed her sword and deflected. The cubs helped her by attacking the Amarok.

It was surprisingly strong, because it knocked all of them away from it, then backed away from Sarah.

The Amarok howled. I felt the cavern shake, a little debris falling from the cave.

"The storm's getting stronger," I said.

The Amarok continued to howl.

"You're doing that, aren't you?"

He stopped and looked at me. Then he pounced.

Me and Fisk moved out of the way and we ran further into the cavern, the others following behind, and the Amarok chasing us.

We entered another room with several different tunnels. Me and Fisk hid in one on the right and pulled Sarah, Zack, and the cubs into it with us. I held my finger up, telling them to be quiet. They understood and got behind me.

I looked back into the room and saw the Amarok come in a moment later. It didn't notice us, and it seemed confused on which way to go. Finally it decided to continue going straight and it was gone.

"That was close," Sarah said, breathing hard from the run.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "Where do we go now?"

Everyone looked at me.

"Well, let's go down this tunnel and hopefully we can find the claw and a way out of here," I suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Kika said.

Everyone else agreed.

I took the lead and led them through the tunnel. At the other end was another room filled with tunnels.

"These tunnels go on forever," I said. "We've been here before, right?"

"I don't know," Sarah said, sounding annoyed. "They're so confusing."

"I'm sure we have. See, that ice looks different from the other—"

We entered another massive room. But it was different from the other ones we've seen.

There were six mounds in the center of the room, each having many different kinds of artifacts on them. I felt some kind of strong power in this room.

"Ok," I said. "Maybe we haven't been here before. There's a power here. I—I don't know how to explain it, but I can feel it."

"So can I," Zack said.

"I sort of can, too," Sarah said.

"We must be under one of those piercement domes," I said.

"Stating the obvious," Zack said.

"Zack," Sarah said. "Shut up." She turned toward me. "Go ahead and continue."

"Well, I remember my mom and Dr. Cheechoo talking about it," I said. "Mystic energy hot spots. Inuit Shamans. Supernatural burial mounds."

"Ok," Zack said. "But what exactly do the mounds have buried in them?"

"Umm, I don't really know. And we still haven't found the claw." I turned to Fiskerton. "It's your turn to take the blame for something, right?"

He protested.

"Yes, it is," I said. "I covered for the Malaysian fireworks thing, remember? That was—"

The cubs started growling and so was Fiskerton. They were looking across the cavern that had another tunnel at the other end.

"What is it, guys?" I asked them.

"Someone's coming," Toto said.

Fisk and Honey grabbed me and Sarah and pulled us behind a mound. The other cubs grabbed Zack and pulled him behind another mound across from us.

"Guys, who's—" I started, but Fisk covered my mouth with his foot and pointed across the cavern.

Sarah and I peered over the mound.

We saw a green light coming from the tunnel and heading our way. A few moments later, two men walked into the cavern, and I knew exactly who they were.

"Van Rook and his sidekick?" I whispered. "What are they doing here?"

"We can take them on," Sarah whispered. "I mean, you've seen me do that before."

"I know. But let's find out why they're here first."

She didn't seem to like it. "Fine."

With her standing so close to me, it sent hot waves through me. But I needed to focus on the current situation. So I did.

Van Rook was holding a shovel and his sidekick was carrying a couple duffle bags over his shoulder.

"You couldn't have spent the ten bucks on a dog sled?" the sidekick complained.

"I don't pay for anymore dumb animals than I need," Van Rook said.

"Man, you have got to work on your motivational technique."

"I already spent plenty bribing that geologist assistant for the dirt on this place. Go motivate yourself and do your job, apprentice."

"So what do we got here?" the sidekick asked.

"What I've got is a jackpot of ancient artifacts worth millions to my clients," Van Rook said. He tossed the shovel he was carrying to his sidekick. "Dig."

He caught it and walked over to the mound closet to him.

"We have to stop them," Sarah whispered, then unsheathed her sword.

"Yeah," I agreed

I may not have the claw with me, but I had my sword. I unsheathed it, and Zack did the same with his. We all came out from behind the mounds.

"Don't touch anything," I said, though not really in a threatening way.

Van Rook and his sidekick aimed their hand lasers at us.

"Wrong move, kid," Van Rook said. "Don't make another one."

"I'm serious," I said. "Did that geologist assistant you bribed tell you the whole story? How they messed up one burial mound and now we've got a ticked-off wolf creature down here and a nasty supernatural storm out there? Do you really want to see what happens if you loot this whole place?"

"Sure," Van Rook said.

He shot at us with his laser gun.

I knocked into Sarah, us both falling to the ground, and the others dodged it quickly.

"Oww," she said with a shriek, then she clutched her shoulder that wasn't holding her sword.

I completely forgot about me accidentally slicing that shoulder in half the other day, even though it had a lot of healing bandages wrapped around it, which makes it heal a lot faster than any other kind of bandage, it still needed more time to heal.

Same with my stomach, because once we hit the floor, I also felt a kind of sharp pain come from it.

After we dodged that shot from Van Rook, it ended up hitting the mound behind us, and smoke started to come from it. He continued to shoot at the other mounds.

I stood up and ran toward him. "No!"

I was a few feet from him when his sidekick came up from behind me, grabbed me around the waist, and lifted me into the air.

"Let me go," I told him, struggling.

But of course, he didn't.

Fiskerton jumped on top of him to get him to drop me, but it wasn't working that well, so Sarah, Zack, and the cheetah cubs tried to help.

Man, this guy can really put up a fight.

I noticed Van Rook walking toward one of the mounds. He bent down, picked up an artifact, and put it in the bag that he was carrying.

Then we heard a growling sound come from the mound that he was next to.

We stopped fighting with the sidekick, and saw something emerge from every one of the mounds around us.

It was the Amaroks, but the difference between these and the one we saw earlier was that they had orange fur instead of white.

Van Rook backed away from them.

"Put that back," I told him slowly. "Right now."

He continued to pick up the artifacts.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"Turning a profit," he replied, putting them into his bag. "Anything else is your problem."

He stood up, turned, and ran down the tunnel behind us.

"Fetch," Sarah said.

I was about to ask what she meant by that, but then I realized she was talking to the cubs, because they ran down the tunnel after him.

One of the Amaroks howled, then all of them came down their mounds toward us.

"Just get down," Van Rook's sidekick told us.

I turned and saw him pull out his gun and aimed it at the Amaroks. We all ducked just in time.

He shot his gun, which turned out to be just some kind of grappling hook, and it sailed toward one of the Amaroks. That one just knocked it aside and started running toward us, the others joining it.

"That was all I got," Van Rook's sidekick said, then he ran down the tunnel, and the rest of us followed.

We caught up with the cubs and Van Rook. I'm sorry to say that he was winning the fight against them, surprisingly. He fought them off him and continued running.

We came to a dead end, but there was another tunnel about a hundred feet or so up the cavern wall in front of us.

Van Rook turned on his jetpack and flew up toward the tunnel.

"We can't let him get away," Sarah said.

She was right. I had an idea.

"Fisk," I said. "Hammer throw."

He grabbed my arms and threw me toward Van Rook. I grabbed onto his bag with the artifacts in them.

"We have to put the artifacts back," I told him. "It's our only chance of getting those Amaroks back where they belong."

He struggled to get me off him, managed to kick me off, and I fell to the ground. Luckily, Fiskerton caught me before I could hit the ground.

Van Rook's sidekick turned on his jetpack and joined Van Rook at the tunnel.

"You like animals so much?" Van Rook said. "Why don't you stick around and play?"

He aimed his laser gun at the ceiling, shot at it, and a lot of debris fell to the ground. None of us got hurt, but the debris blocked the tunnel.

The Amaroks caught up to us, surrounding us.

"I'll distract them," Sarah said. "You guys find a way to get into that tunnel."

"You can't do that alone, Sarah," Zack said.

"I'm not alone if the cubs are helping me. But they have to help you since you and them have super strength. And I'm sure Fiskerton is pretty strong too."

I had to admit, that was really brave of her.

"I want to help you," I said.

She nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

Zack, Fisk, and the cubs climbed up the rocks to where the tunnel was and they started removing them, while Sarah and I took care of the Amaroks.

We still had our swords in hand, and we stood side by side.

"Try not to hurt any of them so much, ok?" I said.

"I'll try," Sarah said.

One of the Amaroks advanced on us. I hit it with the hilt of my sword and Sarah kicked it away. It backed off.

Two others came at us. I hit one of them right in the head, also with my sword's hilt. Sarah did the same to the other one and added a kick. They backed away, but then the entire pack started to advance on is.

"Umm, any ideas?" Sarah asked me.

"Nope," I admitted. "You?"

"Well, I could try calming them down by talking to them, but that didn't work out too well with the other Amarok."

"Ok. Maybe I could—"

Something wrapped around mine and Sarah's waist and pulled us off the ground so quick that I lost my breath.

When we were finally back on the ground, we were on top of the rock slide and were at the tunnel. Toto and Chewie unwrapped their tails from around us.

"That was fast," Sarah noted.

"Well, when you have powers like mine, everything goes fast," Zack said.

"I'll have mine eventually."

"Hopefully."

"Umm, that's great at how fast you guys removed those rocks, but—" I glanced behind us and saw the Amaroks climbing the rocks and getting closer to us. "We really need to move. Now."

I sheathed my sword and so did Sarah. We all headed down the tunnel.

After a few feet, we noticed Van Rook, his sidekick, my parents, Komodo, Raylee, Pikachu, Amber, Shillow, and Kimbia.

My mom was the first to notice us.

"Boys," she said.

"Zak. Fiskerton," Dad said.

"Sarah. Zack. Cubs," Raylee said.

They all ran toward us.

Mom embraced me in a hug. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"We're fine. I promise. But—" We heard growling behind us, and I knew it was the Amaroks. "We're not alone."

The Amaroks surrounded us, though we were about even.

"What did you do, Van Rook?" Mom demanded.

"Hey," he said. "Maybe they were cranky before I got here."

"Umm, Sarah," Raylee said. "Do you think you can calm them down?"

"I've already tried," she said. "But it's not working."

"Ok. What about you, Shillow?"

"Oh, you think that because I'm a wolf, and their some kind of breed of wolf, that I can calm them down?" she said.

"Yeah," Kimbia agreed. "I mean, don't you know that she doesn't get along with wolves?"

"That's not true," Shillow protested. "Just not with the wolves that live in the field behind our house."

"Sure it is."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's—"

"Guys, this is not the time to be arguing with each other," Raylee interrupted.

The Amaroks were closing in.

"No, guys," I said. "These Amaroks, the storm, they're—"

The Amaroks attacked. Everybody started fighting back, except for me, Sarah, and Zack. Fiskerton was protecting us from them.

"Mom, Dad, it's Van Rook," I tried. "He stole artifacts from the burial mounds. We have to put them back."

They didn't seem to have heard me since they were too busy fighting off the Amaroks.

"Now what do we do?" Sarah asked.

"We need to get those artifacts from Van Rook," I said.

Sarah and Zack looked at each other and seemed to have a silent agreement.

"Leave that to us," Zack said.

I nodded. "Ok."

They ran toward him.

I decided that I was going to need a fast way to get back to that piercement dome.

I glanced at Van Rook's sidekick and noticed he was holding back an Amarok by hold its hands.

Perfect.

I ran toward him and unlatched his jetpack.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Solving the problem," I replied.

I strapped the jetpack onto my back and ran back to where Fiskerton was.

"Zak!" I heard Sarah say behind me. "Catch."

I turned around an saw her throw the bag with the artifacts in them toward me.

I caught it and slung the strap over my shoulder. "Thanks." I jumped onto Fisk's back. "Sorry, Fisk. But the good news is this is gonna be really, really fun."

I turned on the jetpack and we went a little airborne. But only for a few seconds. It was still fun, though. "Whoa-hoo!"

We landed back on the ground with me still on top of Fisk. We glided along the floor into the tunnel, running right through the Amaroks and my family, with me using Fisk like a sled, which I felt bad about, but I couldn't quite control the jetpack.

We eventually made it back to the room with the burial mounds, but we were going too fast.

We ran into a boulder, knocking me off him. The impact on it turned the jetpack off, but knocked Fisk out cold.

I tried to wake him. "Fisk." But it wasn't working.

I slid the bag off my shoulder, unzipped it, and grabbed all the artifacts out of it. I walked over to the mounds and dropped one artifact in each hole of them.

After doing that, I noticed the Amaroks had followed us, standing at the opening of the chamber.

"It's alright," I told them. "I put everything back. You can all go back to sleep now."

They didn't seem to like that, growling a little bit.

"I know, I know," I said. "I hate bedtime too."

They started howling and advanced on me.

"Fisk," I called. "Now would be a really good time to wake up."

I considered using my sword to fight them off, but I decided against it. I really wish Fisk would wake up.

Then, suddenly, the power I felt in here before built up, the artifacts beginning to glow around me, and I felt my powers activate with it, my eyes and hands glowing orange.

"Whoa," I said. "The mystical hot spot. It feels like I just drank six cans of soda at once."

I pushed my hands toward the Amaroks, and they backed up a bit.

"Ok," I said with a smile. "This I like."

I gestured my hand to the burial mounds, and they listened. Each one went to their own mound and, like, sunk into it.

There was still one that fought me a little bit, but I forced it into its mound and it sank into it.

All the power wore off and so did my powers. I walked over to Fisk and collapsed on top of him, totally exhausted.

But my troubles weren't all over yet.

I heard a growling sound. I looked up and saw the white Amarok coming toward me.

"The first one," I said.

I stood up and tried to summon my powers again. "Please. Just a little more." But they wouldn't work.

The Amarok jumped at me, and at the last second, before it got to me, I noticed Van Rook's sidekick flying in here with a jetpack on his back, which was weird since I thought I took his, and he slammed into it, knocking it into the cavern wall.

It stood up and started swiping its claws at him, but he kept dodging and eventually grabbed its wrists to stop it.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, surprised.

"I saw what you did to the other flee bags," he said, changing the subject. "Can you do it again?"

"I don't know. This place is effecting me weirdly. And this Amarok came from a different burial mound."

"I'd consider it a personal favor if you'd at least try."

He struggled to keep a hold on the Amarok.

I focused more this time. "Please, please, please." And my powers activated again, the artifacts glowing again. "It's working."

This Amarok was a little harder to control, trying to fight me, but I was able to do it.

"Pour it on, little man," the sidekick said.

My powers guided me to where this Amarok's burial mound was, so I forced the Amarok to it.

"As soon as it gets in," I told the sidekick, pointing to an artifact on the ground, "stick that thing on top to seal it shut."

He picked it up and followed along.

After a few more feet, I forced the Amarok into its mound and the sidekick did as I said and stuck the artifact on top. "Got it."

My powers wore off again.

"Pretty good trick," the sidekick told me. "How'd you learn it?"

"Born with it," I said. "My dad thinks I'm maybe suppose to save the world one day."

"Man, I thought sports dads were pushy."

I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks for saving me. I'd never thought you would've come back and—"

"No, don't," he interrupted. "We're not like that. You want to have play dates and save the world, look somewhere else. I just came back for my stuff."

I unlatched the jetpack from me and he took it.

"Zak! Fiskerton!" I heard Dad calling.

"I hear voices," my mom said. "This way."

"Mom, Dad, down here!" I called to them. "We're ok." Then a realization came to me: the whole reason why we were down here in the first place. "Ahh, the claw. They're going to freak when they found out I lost it."

"By the way," the sidekick said. "I found this piece of junk on the way in. I've got no use for it."

He pulled something out of the bag he was carrying, and when I saw it, I could barely believe me eyes.

"The claw," I said, taking it from him, greatly excepting it.

Wow. How convenient was that?

"For trade," the sidekick told me. "And thanks for not scratching the jetpack. Give your daddy all my hugs and kisses."

I knew he was joking there, but I couldn't contain my smile. He turned on his jetpack, flew down the tunnel across from us and he was gone.

I heard footsteps behind me.

"Zak," Dad said.

"My baby boy," Mom said, embracing me in a huge.

I really wish she would stop calling me that.

Everyone else came into the room, and I noticed Fisk was conscious again.

"Hey, guys," I said. "I'm ok. I'm fine."

"The Amaroks?" Mom asked.

"Gone. My power sent them back."

She seemed surprised. "Your power is that strong?"

"Mom, we took care of it."

"We?" Dad asked. He look down the tunnel the sidekick had flown down. "Was that—"

"Maybe the coolest guy I've ever met," I said.

* * *

After we got out of the cavern and back to the airship, me, Sarah, and Zack told everybody what happened and how we got into the cavern while my parents were fixing up Dr. Cheechoo, who had gotten badly beat up with a black eye by the white Amarok.

I, of course, left out the part about me losing the claw, so when we got to the part about the cavern, it was a little hard to come up with a cover-up story, but I managed to, with the help of Sarah and Zack, or course.

After that, we dropped off Dr. Cheechoo with his team and headed home.

We were all in the control room of the airship.

"Pist," I heard someone say.

I turned around and noticed Sarah gesturing me to follow her, so I did. She led me about ten feet away down the hallway.

"So how did you find the claw?" she asked me.

"Well, actually, I didn't," I said honestly. "Van Rook's sidekick did."

"And he gave it to you?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Huh. Wow."

"He's a pretty cool guy."

Sarah just stared at me. "Ok."

"Umm, about earlier, with you trying to talk to that Amarok, did you really think that that was gonna work? And how did you know that if was there before it came into sight?"

"Well, I told you about my aura, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "You said that it makes animals like and feel protective of you. But apparently it didn't work this time."

"Well, that's kind of insulting. I mean, that's the first time it's never worked for me. But anyway, with my aura, I can feel an animal when it's close by within a half a mile or so. And I can always, or sometimes, control it by just talking to it, kind of like your powers."

"Ok. That's cool."

"Yeah."

"Hey, do you think we can have a sword lesson tomorrow?"

"Oh . . . no. Sorry, I can't. Me and my family are going to go home tomorrow and spend most of the day with my dad. We realized that we haven't seen him since before I met you and your family, and that's bad. So sorry. But maybe we can the day after tomorrow, ok?"

"Oh. Ok," I said, trying to hide my disappointment, but it didn't seem to work judging by the look on her face.

"Aw, Zak," she said, then gave me a kiss on the cheek, which really surprised me. "You can wait two more days."

She walked back into the control room, leaving me in the hallway with a confused look.

The kiss on my cheek made me blush. I'm starting to wonder if maybe my superstition about her having a crush on me was true.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. The next one is going to be a good one. At least I think so. It's the main thing I usually can't wait for to happen in a story like this.**

 **Please review.**


	8. Fighting with Daddy

**Please read my author note at the end of this chapter.**

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

I felt sorry for Zak having to wait until tomorrow for another sword fight. He looked really sad about it too.

I'm guessing it's because he realized his feelings for me (thanks to my twin brother) just a few days ago, and he wants to spend more time with me.

I'll admit, I wanted to spend more time with him, too. But I'm really glad to go home for a while, because I have not seen my dad or my baby sister Emily since before I met the Saturdays, which, was like, almost two weeks ago. I've really missed them.

Once we got home, Dad embraced me with a hug. With his brown hair and blue eyes, he looked just like Zack, minus the blue eyes. I wonder if Zack will become a lawyer someday, like our dad is.

Emily was in her room, so mom went to go get her and she seemed really happy to see us. And our pet cat, Silver, came over and brushed up against me.

Silver is a gray house cat with white patches of fur on her chest and paws. She's a really old cat. She doesn't look old, though. She looks about four or six years old. My mom's had her ever since she was seven-years-old, and since my mom is one hundred years old, that makes Silver ninety-three years old. She's older than the other animals by about fourteen years at least.

After talking for a while about what happened to me and how I met the Saturdays, who they are and what they do for a living, we decided to go outside and play some basketball. Me and Zack versus Mom and Dad, with Emily, Pikachu, and the animals watching.

We did a coin toss, and Mom and Dad won it, so they started with the ball.

Mom's a good thrower. Zack's a good thrower and runner. So am I. Dad, well, he's ok at doing those, put not that good at shooting the ball into the basket, because he misses a lot, so he would give it to Mom to do it while he mostly protects it until he can give it to her and make the basket.

She makes it half the time. The other half, Zack and I manage to block it, or she just misses it.

Mom had the ball and I was blocking her, or trying to anyway, but it's not that easy to do when she's taller than you by a few inches. Same with Zack, who was blocking Dad.

Mom kept dribbling the ball in front of her, unsure about what to do, and I kept trying to grab at it, but she would always pick it up and hold it out of reach.

Mom faked threw it to her left and right a few times, which I fell for, and Mom got me out of the way long enough for her to shoot and score right into the basket, barely moving from her spot once.

Zack had the ball, and I was standing near the net, but I couldn't quite see him because Mom and Dad were both blocking him. Zack kept bouncing the ball and running around, trying to find a way to pass it to me, but Mom and Dad kept blocking me from view.

Zack finally decided to stay in one spot, knowing it was hopeless to keep running, so I made a quick run around Mom and Dad, Zack handed me the ball when I passed him, and I made another quick run around Mom and Dad and was about to slam-dunk the ball into the basket, but Mom surprised me before I could do so, blocking my path.

I was out of ideas.

I had no idea what to do next, so I just backed up a little while Mom and Dad were practically towering over me.

 _Go to the end of the driveway_ , Zack told me through telepathy. _Make sure not to step out of bounds. Then throw the ball to me as high and far as you can to the other end where I am._

 _Ok_ , I responded to him, also through telepathy.

I backed up to the end of the driveway, just a step before I would be out of bounds, and Mom and Dad stood only a few feet from me.

I looked at Zack from between them, and he nodded.

I braced myself.

I grabbed the ball, threw it over Mom and Dad's heads, high enough to where they couldn't reach it, then Zack caught the ball and slam-dunked it right into the net.

"Yes," I cheered, and gave Zack a high-five.

"Nice one, you two," Mom said. "But don't think you'll be able to do that again."

"We'll see about that," Zack said.

Now it's Mom and Dad's turn with the ball again.

Mom let's Dad start with it, so I decide to block him while Zack blocks Mom. They try to move around and get open, but me and Zack just kept blocking them.

Dad bounced the ball in front of him, but he's not as fast as Mom is, or quite as smart, either.

I take the ball out of his hands, move away from him, then I noticed Zack is open, so I throw the ball toward him, but Mom intercepted it, turns toward the basket, and shoots the ball.

I'm too far from it to get it before it gets into the basket and so is Zack, but we try to stop it anyway.

The ball doesn't get into the basket because it got intercepted . . . but not by me or Zack.

A girl about our age comes out of no where, grabs the ball before it goes into the hoop, and she shoots it into the basket.

"Yes," the girl said. "Another point for Sarah and Zack."

"Selena," Zack said, and he gave her a hug.

Yep. That's his girlfriend and my best friend since birth.

"Selena," Mom said. "You know that point doesn't count since you weren't even part of the game, right?"

"Yes, I know," she said. "I just wanted to help Sarah and Zack. You two seemed like you were beating them."

"They were," I admitted. "But we've beaten our parents before at basketball."

"Yeah, but you and Zack looked like you needed the help."

"We would've been able to handle it. But thanks, anyway."

"Do you guys want to end the game now and hang out with Selena?" Mom asked us.

"Yes," Zack said immediately.

"Yeah, sure," I agreed.

"Well, we're going to go ahead and go inside now," Dad said.

Mom picked up Emily and held her against her hip. "Make sure you guys come inside for dinner."

"Ok," I said.

"Can Selena join us?" Zack asked.

"If her parents are ok with it, then yeah."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll say yes," Selena said.

Her parents are my parents best friends.

"Well, then, we'll see you later," Dad said.

"Have fun, you guys," Mom said.

Then she and Dad with Emily, Pikachu, and the animals went inside.

After they were gone, Zack gave Selena a kiss.

"Hi," he said with a smile.

"Hi," she replied, also with a smile.

"Oh, get a room," I said and threw the basketball at them.

They just laughed.

Selena is a very nice and sweet girl with straight blond hair that shines in the sunlight and blue eyes.

"Oh, Sarah," she said, then walked over to me and gave me a hug. "I can tell you're jealous of me and your brother, and you want that too, right?"

"I'm not jealous," I lied, or half lied, because I'm not just jealous.

"Yes, you are. Speaking of which, how's things between you and Zak? Still just friends?"

"Yes. And just a few days ago, Zack made him realize his feelings for me, and he's been wanting to spend more time with me ever since."

"So, you like him less?"

"Well, she thinks that because guys act really stupid around girls they have a crush on," Zack said. "You know, like most of the guys in our grade at school act around you."

"Oh, yeah," I said. "But no, Zak hasn't acted different around me at all in the past few days."

"Not even after you two almost killed each other?" Zack asked.

"What?" Selena asked, surprised.

"Me and Zak just fought more gruesomely than it is when me and my twin brother sword fight."

"How gruesome?"

"Gruesome enough to where there was a lot of blood from each of them," Zack said.

I glared at him.

Selena gasped. "What happened?"

"Well, Zak made a pretty big gash near my shoulder, and it was pretty deep and bloody," I said, showing her the place where it was, now fully healed.

"And you stabbed him right in the stomach after he did that," Zack said.

Selena gasped again.

"I was just showing him to never let his guard down or that will happen if he does," I said defensively.

"Oh my gosh," Selena said. "How much blood did you and Zak lose?"

"A lot. Now can we change the subject?"

"Ok. Well, do you want Zak to be your boyfriend someday?"

"I want to say yes, but I'm not really sure. I mean, I still don't know that much about him."

"Well, with what you do know about him, would you date him?"

"Yes."

"Really?" Selena asked. "Are you going to talk to him about it?"

"Of course not," I said. "I'll wait for him to talk to me about it."

"Ok." She looked at Zack and smiled, and he smiled back.

They started acting awkward, and I knew why.

"If you two want to be alone, you can," I told them.

"Are you sure?" Zack asked.

"Yeah." _I'm use to it_ , I wanted to say, but didn't.

"Ok," he said with a hurt look on his face, then turned to Selena. "You want to go to your house or stay at mine and go inside?"

"Umm, staying here is fine," she said.

Zack grabbed her hand, then turned to me, the hurt look still on his face. "I'm sorry, Sarah."

After they were gone, I made myself not cry and shot some hoops for a while.

Zack had read my mind. He knew that I was use to him and Selena always wanting to be alone together and ditching me in the process of doing so, and he felt bad for it.

And yet he won't do anything about it.

I couldn't help but think what would've happened if it were vice versa, that if I had a boyfriend before Zack had a girlfriend, and he felt the way I feel now: being neglected by your own twin to be with their boyfriend or girlfriend.

If that happened with me first, and I neglected Zack to be with my boyfriend, I would hate myself.

But would I realize that I'm neglecting my own twin brother? Probably not for a long time.

Would I do something about it when I realized it? Probably.

I didn't realize how long I was shooting hoops until Mom came outside and told me it was dinner time.

I looked at the sun's position in the sky and noticed it was close to setting, and I would say that there's about two hours of sun left until dark.

Usually we eat dinner at 6:00pm, and when I got inside, that's what the clock read on the stove in the kitchen.

We sat at the table in the dining room, and by we, I mean me, Mom, Dad, Zack, Selena, and Emily, who was sitting in a high chair, of course, since she's only a baby. Even Pikachu was allowed to join us, but only eating her Pokémon food.

The animals were no where to be seen. I'm guessing they went hunting somewhere in Africa. Their collars give them super speed and they can run around the entire circumference of the earth in five minutes. (I know. I've checked.) Plus, they can fly too, so they'll be able to go across the Atlantic Ocean to get to Africa with no problem.

Mom made lasagna for dinner. (She technically didn't make it. She bought it pre-baked in a box at the store and just put it in the oven for a couple hours.) She cut slices for each of us and put it on our plates and we started eating.

It was good.

"So, Sarah," Dad said. "What do you think about that Zak Saturday boy?"

I was confused by that question. But Mom seemed to know what he meant, and she didn't like that Dad was asking me that.

"Um, what do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, what do you think about him as your . . . friend?" He said friend like it was a bad word or something.

"Umm, he's a good friend and very caring."

"Of you or his family?"

"I would say both."

"Ah. How do you feel toward him?"

Now Mom looked mad. "Cj, stop."

"I'm just asking her a couple questions about him," he said.

"Yeah. Questions that I don't like."

"What's wrong with the questions I'm asking her?"

Mom glared at him. "Don't act like you don't know, Cj."

"Well, I'm her father. I have a right to know."

"Whatever."

"You just don't like that I'm asking her these questions because you didn't like it either when your father asked you them too."

"That's not true. My father never asked me these kind of questions 'cause he never really said much. My mother was always the one who mostly asked the questions, and most of the time, I lied to her when she asked me these questions because I never liked them. And I'm not going to allow you to ask our daughter these same questions and insist that she answer them."

"Well, I'm her father, and it is my business to know," Dad said. "You can't force me not to ask her."

Mom glared at him again.

As I've said before, my mom is immortal and she has powers that can do almost anything. But Dad, on the other hand, doesn't have any kind of powers at all, and that makes him a mortal, so Mom actually can force Dad to do whatever she wants him to do, and Dad was wrong to say she can't do that.

It's funny to watch Mom prove to Dad that she can, in fact, force him at any time, no matter what.

But I was still confused. "What are you guys talking about?"

Mom and Dad both stared at me, including Pikachu, Zack and Selena.

"What?"

"Sarah," Dad said. "What do you feel toward that Zak Saturday kid?"

"Sarah, you don't have to answer that question," Mom said.

It's odd how my dad is the lawyer, my mom isn't, and yet she's acting like mine.

I turned to Dad. "Umm, what do you mean by how do I feel toward him? Do you mean—"

"Sarah likes Zak," Zack interrupted, smiling.

I blushed and got mad. "Zack!"

"Oh, God," Mom said, covering her face with her hand. She glanced at Dad, who looked mad.

"I thought so," he said.

Now I know what he and Mom were talking about.

I was scared. Zack looked like he was starting to regret what he just said.

"Sarah," Dad said calmly, but fiercely. "I don't want you to see that boy ever again."

I was shocked. And so was everyone else.

"But, Dad—"

"No buts," he interrupted.

I looked toward my mom, and she nodded her head, which meant she wanted me to continue.

I turned back to Dad. "No."

"Excuse me?" he asked, shocked.

"I'm not going to do as you ask."

"Sarah, you are too young to be dating right now."

"What about Zack?" I asked, gesturing toward him and Selena. "You let him date, and he's the exact same age as me."

"That's different."

"How the fuck is that different, Cj?" Mom asked. She had her arms crossed and was definitely mad now.

Apparently, Mom forgot that Emily was in the room, and she seemed to be listening, but I'm not sure how much she actually understood, given the fact that she was only a few months old.

"It just is," Dad said.

"That's not fair, Dad," Zack said.

"Do you want me to not allow you to continue dating Selena so that it will be fair for your sister?"

Zack was speechless. He turned toward Selena with a pained look on his face, Selena looking the same.

I was hurt by that.

"No, Dad," I said. "Leave them out of this."

"But, Sarah—" Zack started.

"Stay out of this, Zack," I interrupted, "before you do something you'll regret." I turned back to Dad.

"Fine," he said. "I'll keep your brother out of this. But you still have to do what I said."

"I am going to see Zak again," I said. "And you can't stop me."

"What makes you think I can't stop you?"

"Because first of all, I'm a lot stronger than you. And second of all, you obviously haven't noticed over the years, but I only do what Mom tells me. I only do what you tell me if she agrees with it. And do you agree, Mom, what Dad's trying to make me do?"

"Not one damn bit," she replied. She has a habit of saying curse words when she's mad.

Emily seemed to feel the tension in the room and started crying.

"Raylee, you can't be serious," Dad said. "You know she's too young to be dating."

"I don't care," she said. "Zack is. But you know what, Cj? You are starting to act a lot like your damn parents."

 _His parents?_

I've never met them before. I don't even really know their names. I'm guessing that's because Mom doesn't like them, and she doesn't want them near us either.

"It's called taking responsibility as a parent, Raylee," Cj said. "Maybe you should try that."

Mom looked hurt. Zack and I were shocked.

Emily was still crying, and for some reason, Mom and Dad were ignoring her.

"I—I didn't mean that—" Dad started.

"Guys," Mom interrupted, talking to us, trying to control her anger. "Can you leave the room, please? And take Emily with you and try to calm her down."

"If she needs a diaper change, we're not doing that," Zack said.

I glared at him. I got up from my seat, picked Emily up from her high chair, and then we, along with Pikachu, left the room and went downstairs to the music room.

After we got there, Zack closed the door behind us. I sat down in front of my piano with Emily on my lap and rocked her a little bit, which seemed to help calm her down. Then I gave her her pacifier and turned to Zack.

"Why did you do that?" I demanded.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah," he said. "I didn't—"

"How many times are you going to tell me you're sorry before you actually do something so that you won't have to say you're sorry again?"

He knew what I was referring to.

"I don't know," he said carefully. "But I didn't think Dad was going to react the way he did. I probably should've known by the way he was asking you those questions, but I didn't, and I'm—" He stopped himself.

I'm glad he did, because if he said it again, I probably would've hit him.

"Ok," I said. "But the damage's been done. I don't understand why Dad's doing this. I mean, Selena, did your dad tell you that when he found out you liked Zack?"

"You know he didn't," she said.

"Right. So why is my dad like those overprotective fathers I see on TV and yours isn't?"

"Well, Sarah, my dad knew Zack, and he is your dad's best friend since high school."

"So you're saying that if you didn't like Zack, but some other boy, your dad might've acted the way my dad is now?" I asked.

"Maybe," Selena said.

"Oh, great. But why?"

"Sarah, he's your dad, and you're his little girl. He doesn't want to see you grow up so fast."

"Well, sorry, Dad, but your little girl is growing up fast whether you like or not."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Selena asked.

"I don't care. He made me mad."

"Not as mad as your mother."

"Yeah." I turned to Zack. "Why did you tell Dad that I like Zak?"

"Because you did the same thing to me last year when I told you that I like Selena."

"Oh, and you wanted to get back at me by doing the same thing?"

"Yes."

"Ok. But if you knew that this was going to happen, would you still have done it?"

"Hell no."

I nodded. "Ok."

"So, you're not going to do what Dad said?" Zack asked.

"Would you if it was Selena?" I asked.

"No. But what if I said yes?"

"Well, one, I would kill you, especially since she's standing right there; and two, I still wouldn't listen. I mean, Mom's not going to keep me from seeing Zak, so I don't have to worry about it."

"What if she did?" Selena asked.

"Mom would never do that," I said.

"But what if she did, Sarah?" Zack asked.

"Well, then, she'll be able to stop me, and I can't do anything about it."

"Would you hate her for doing so?"

"I wouldn't say hate, but I probably would be really mad."

I sighed.

Dad said I was too young. _Too young_.

I handed Emily to Zack, placed my fingers on my piano, and started to play a tune that turned into a song:

Big lights.  
People.  
Rushing to grow up before you know.  
Stop signs.  
Denied.  
Everyone tells me I gotta go slow

It's gonna hurt sometimes  
No matter what you do.  
But nothing can change my mind.

If I'm too young to fall in love  
Why do you keep running through my brain?  
If I'm too young to know anything  
Then why do I know that I'm just not the same?

Don't tell me I won't.  
Don't tell me I can't feel.  
What I'm feeling is real.  
'Cause I'm not too young.

Raindrops.  
Deep thoughts.  
Pictures of you and me where ever I go.  
Laughing.  
Running.  
To a place where nobody says no.

It's gonna hurt sometimes  
No matter what you do.  
But I've gotta fall to fly.

If I'm too young to fall in love  
Why do you keep running through my brain?  
If I'm too young to know anything  
Then why do I know that I'm just not the same?

Don't tell me I won't.  
Don't tell me I can't feel.  
What I'm feeling is real.  
'Cause I'm not too young.

'Cause I'm not too young, no.  
Ye-e-eah.

And if I'm too young to fall in love  
Why do you keep running through my brain?  
And if I'm too young to know anything  
Then why do I know that I'm just not the same?

Don't tell me I won't.  
Don't tell me I can't feel.  
What I'm feeling is real.  
'Cause I'm not too young.

'Cause I'm not too young, no.  
'Cause I'm not too young.

While I played that, a few tears had streaked down my face.

"That was good, Sarah," Selena said.

"Yeah," I agreed, wiping my eyes. "And true. That's what makes it good."

"I really am sorry, Sarah," Zack said.

"I know you are. But right now, I want you to send me there."

"Send you where?" Zack asked.

"To the Saturdays home. I need to be as far away from here as I can be, and I know you can do that with your powers, right?"

"Yeah. But, Sarah—"

"Tell Mom I'm there whenever you get the chance to," I interrupted.

"Ok," he said. "But what if I teleport you to the wrong place?"

"Don't you know how to control where you teleport to?"

"Yes. But I've never teleported someone somewhere without me going with them."

"Well, this is the perfect time to try. I have my cell phone with me, so if you teleport me to the wrong place, I'll call you on your cell phone to tell you, ok?"

"Ok," Zack said. "But don't bother calling me if I do it right."

"You could do it wrong, and I may be somewhere that I'm not able to get a signal."

"Oh. Then send me a text if I get it right, and if I don't receive it within two minutes of me teleporting you, I'll come find you."

"Ok."

"Bye, Sarah," Selena said. She gave me a hug and I gladly returned it. "I hope to see you again soon."

"Yeah. So do I," I said. "Bye. You ready, Zack?"

He nodded. He held up his hand toward me, it started to glow, and I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I was right in front of the Saturday's house.

Wow. I barely felt a thing.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. _It worked. Thanks_.

I put my phone back into my pocket and headed inside the house, looking for Zak. I'm not sure why, though. It's not like I'm going to tell him what happened tonight.

Even though he'll want to know why I'm here since I told him I was going to stay home. I needed to do something to get what happened out of my head right now, and I figured Zak would be able to do that.

I don't know how, but it's worth a shot.

I've looked through half the house already and I, surprisingly, didn't see anyone. Maybe they're all out chasing a cryptid. Then again, it is kind of late. The sun has already set here.

Everyone could have gone to bed by now, though it's not that late. I'll check the rest of the house before I completely decide that right now.

I was in the living room, and normally Zak would be in here, but he's not. Maybe he's in his room.

I started down the hallway when I heard a voice behind me. "Sarah?"

It was Zak.

I turned around to face him.

From what I've seen on TV, at school, and read in books, girls who have a crush on someone and whenever they see their crush's face, they think or act like their hearts have skipped a beat. Or that they're going to die.

I, on the other hand, didn't really feel like that at all. And girls normally act so dumb and weak, but I just acted like myself. My mom taught me to do that.

"Hey, Zak," I said simply.

He was wearing his usual clothes. I think they look cute on him, but seeing him wear the same clothes every single day made me want to hate them, regardless of how good he looks in them.

"Umm, hey," Zak said. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to stay home this weekend."

"I was, but things changed," I said.

"What happened?"

I felt sad at the thought of it. "Well, I got into a fight with my dad, and now he and my mom are probably arguing, and I'm feeling upset about it."

"Oh. I'm sorry," he said.

Again with the "I'm sorry." Augh.

"Do you want me to make you a sundae?" Zak asked me. "Maybe it'll make you feel better."

I nodded. "Ok. Sure."

"Alright. Follow me."

He led me to the kitchen. He gestured me to a stool at his table/counter and I sat down while he prepared the sundae.

He set a large bowl in front of me, then he grabbed all kinds of things from the cabinets and the freezer: Gummy bears, sprinkles, caramel, chocolate chips, whip cream, jawbreakers, and, of course, ice cream. Vanilla and Chocolate, to be exact.

He mixed them all in the bowl and he topped it with a cherry, naturally.

"Tada," Zak said.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"What?"

"It's just the fact that it looks like the sundaes I've seen on TV," I said with a smile.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes. But it's way too much for me to eat. And plus, it has a lot of carbs."

"What are you, on a no-carb diet or something?" Zak said, also with a smile.

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to get fat and be unhealthy," I said. "But no, I'm just saying I can't eat this all, and I don't want to waste it. Do you want to eat it with me?"

"Sure."

He grabbed two spoons out of the drawer, handed one to me, and sat in the stool next to mine. I put the sundae between us on the counter and we started to eat.

I took the cherry off the top first and ate it, sending Zak a smile. He smiled back.

Then I ate the ice cream. And it tasted really good. Maybe I can eat this after all, with it tasting this good.

"So why did you and your dad get into a fight?" Zak asked me.

I really wish he didn't ask me that, but I figured he would.

"Umm, well, my dad told me that he didn't want me to see a friend of mine ever again," I said. "I told him I wasn't going to do that, and he got mad at me. And my mom was mad at my dad for telling me that."

"Oh. Why doesn't your dad want you to see your friend anymore?"

I took another bite of ice cream before I answered.

"He doesn't like my friend," I said, which wasn't really a lie.

"How come?"

"My twin brother said something to our dad about me that's involving my friend and he didn't like it. After my mom told us to leave the room after my dad said something hurtful to her, I kind of got into a fight with Zack about what he said, and he's sorry he said it, but I'm still mad at him. Then I told him to send me here, and here I am." I took another bite of ice cream.

"Wow," was all Zak said.

"Yeah," I agreed. I felt my emotions start to build up, tears trying to push their way out. "To be honest, it's the first time I've ever had a fight with my dad and my twin brother. And it hurts. A lot."

The tears won their fight, like they always do.

"Hey," Zak said. "It'll be alright eventually."

He stood up from his seat, wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and pulled me close to him.

"I don't think it'll be alright with me and my dad for a long time," I said.

"It will be better soon," Zak said. "It always is."

I felt a little better by the comfort, and I looked at him. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

I gave him a half-hearted smile, and he returned it with a full one.

I didn't realize how close his face was to mine until I started leaning in, and so did Zak. We kept moving closer and closer to each other until we closed the gap between us and our lips touched.

I couldn't explain what it felt like to be kissing Zak for the first time, except that it felt amazing. My worry melted away temporarily.

His lips were soft and warm.

I put my hand on his neck, pulling him closer, and he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer too.

I felt his mouth open a bit, so I, for some reason, pushed my tongue inside his mouth and ran into his tongue. I think he was surprised to feel that, but I wasn't sure.

You know, you would normally think that your first kiss would feel good, but not this good. I think it mostly depends on who your first kiss is with.

Right now, I'm glad mine is with Zak. I wonder what he's thinking about right now.

I never want this to end.

But of course, it would.

I was starting to lose my breath, which was weird since I could breathe through my nose, but I guess Zak was taking my breath away too fast for my nose to breathe enough to restore it.

I'm not sure if that made sense or not, but I don't care right now.

"Zak?" a voice called. It was Drew.

Me and Zak stopped kissing and moved away from each other quickly, both of us breathing hard.

Doc and Drew entered the kitchen, so luckily they didn't see us

"There you are, Zak," Drew said. "We were wondering where—" She stopped when she noticed me. "Sarah? I thought you were going home this weekend."

I didn't say anything. I was in shock for what just happened between me and Zak. I looked at him, and he seemed to be just as shocked.

I felt embarrassed about it. I don't know why, though. I was too scared to speak, and with one last look at Zak, I left the kitchen and headed to my room.

After I got there, I lied down on top of the bed looking at the ceiling, replaying in my head what just happened.

Zak and I kissed.

And the fact that me telling him what happened between me and my dad led up to that was really weird.

I wonder what's going to happen now.

"Hey, Sarah," I heard my mom said.

I noticed her standing next to the bed, which really startled me.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

I sighed in relief. "That's ok. I'm guessing you just teleported here?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Are you ok?"

"Yes and no."

"What happened?"

"Zak and I kissed."

Mom's eyes widened. "What? You and Zak kissed?"

"Yeah, and I'm trying to remember exactly how it happened. How's Dad?"

"He went out for a while," Mom said, sitting on the foot of my bed and looking mad.

"To where?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. A bar, probably."

"I didn't know Dad drank."

"He use to be an alcoholic and got sober after we were engaged."

"For you?"

"Yeah. You probably won't believe this, but me and your father actually first met in a bar."

"You're right. I don't believe you. How?"

"Well, you know how much I hate alcohol. I've only drank one glass in my entire life, and that was at my wedding. But one night, about fifteen years ago, I decided I would get drunk and know what it feels like, even though I've known since I was very young how wrong it is and have seen proof of how bad it is over the years. But I went to a bar and ordered a margarita. I was sitting next to a man, who was your father, and we started talking for a while. After an hour or so, I decided that it was time for me to go home. I gave my number to your father, without him asking for it might I add, and left. He called me a few months after that, we started going out, and we've been together ever since."

"Wow," I said. "Did you ever drink that margarita?"

I know, I know. There's other questions I could've ask, and yet I start with that one first?

Mom laughed. "Nope. I really didn't like the taste of it."

"Ok. But how come you two started dating a few months after you met?" I asked.

"Your father was going through a rough time in his life then, and he didn't want to start a new relationship yet."

"Ok. But was that really the first time you met Dad?"

"Yes," she said, though she didn't seem too sure with that answer. "Well, sort of. It was the first time I met your father as an adult."

"As an adult?" I asked. "You first met Dad when he was a kid?"

"Yeah. I am about sixty years older than your father, but I truly first met him when he was thirteen. I didn't realize, nine years after that, that it was him until I met his family and I recognized his parents. But the reason I met him when he was thirteen was because something was happening between his older brother, your uncle Rick, and their parents. But that's a story saved for another time."

"Umm, ok," I said. "But if it had something to do with Uncle Rick and his parents, why were you there?"

"Well, I was the Protector of America then as I am now," Mom said. "But I was there because his parents kicked him out into the streets for doing something that they didn't like, and he was only fifteen, and too young to be living on his own, so I had to step in."

"Ok," I said. "Anyway, what did you do to Dad after he said that hurtful thing to you earlier and you had me, Zack, Selena, Pikachu, and Emily leave the room?"

"Well, first of all, I will say that that wasn't the first time I've been told that. But being told that by the father of your children, who is also your husband, hurts. And second of all, I didn't hurt him, if you're wondering, but I did have a serious talk with him."

"You've been told that you're a bad mother?" I asked.

"Yeah," Mom replied. "It's mostly because I don't discipline you or Zack at all."

"Oh. Umm, not that I'm complaining, but why don't you discipline us?"

Mom sighed. "Sarah, what is it that you or your brother do that you need to be disciplined for?"

"Umm, I don't know.

"Exactly. Why should I discipline you when you didn't do anything wrong? Besides, it would be hard for me to do that to you guys."

"Why?"

"Well, like I've said, I'm the Protector of America. I've witnessed many children being abused by their parents over the years, and I imagine doing that to you and your brother, and it just makes me want to hurt myself instead. And it makes me scared, too."

"Oh," was all I said.

"Yeah," Mom said. "But anyway, let's get back to your situation. So, you kissed Zak. How did that happen?"

I told her everything from the moment after she told us to leave the table earlier, to when she showed up here to check on me.

Mom smiled when I mentioned the kissing part (she really loves romance).

"Ice cream always does the trick," she said while still smiling.

I blushed.

"Did you like the kiss?"

"Of course I did," I said. "Who wouldn't like their first kiss?"

"I didn't like mine," Mom said.

"You didn't?"

"Well, it was ok. Not as good as I hoped it would be. But I liked my second kiss."

"You liked your second kiss, but not your first?" I asked.

"It was with a different guy," she replied. "The first guy broke up with me a couple days after our first kiss."

"Did he not like the kiss?"

"No. It was something else. But I don't want to talk about it. So what do you think is going to happen between you and Zak now?"

"I don't know," I said. "Would it be bad if we got together after this?"

"I don't see why it would be bad. I mean, you two just proved to each other that you like the other. Why not?"

"Well, what about Dad?"

"Oh, forget your dad," Mom said. "He doesn't control what you do with your life or with who."

"Doesn't he, though, until I'm eighteen?"

"He is your father, and he does have a right to know who you're dating until then, yes. In this case with me and your father, he's not going to enforce anything unless I allow him to, which I'm not going to let him do, even if you are his daughter, which I understand, and you should to. But I don't see this relationship being harmful, and I would know because I've been in those kinds of relationships. Very few of them, but I still knew enough not to continue in them."

"Ok," I said. "But I'll let Zak decide when he wants to talk about it. But I think maybe I should avoid him for a while."

"Don't play 'hard-to-get,' Sarah," Mom said. "That's not going to help at all. The way I like to deal with things is, the sooner you do them, the sooner you're done with them, good or bad."

"You could be right."

I know I said that I want to get together with Zak, but now that I think it's going to happen, I'm kind of scared.

It won't be bad, will it?

I hope it won't be. I just hope.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter, especially since Sarah and Zak have finally kissed. But I'll talk to you a little more about it in a second.**

 **To the guest Please Remember and anybody else reading this: I am actually a lot older than you guessed me to be. But if I wasn't, and I was actually between the ages 8-13, don't you think that would be worrisome given the words I use in this story? Yes, I am an inexperienced writer, and I don't really plan on getting any better. I can take constructive criticism, but not about the same damn thing over and over again. How many damn times do I have to tell you people that I _know_ my grammar is bad _,_ but I don't care because this is just the best _I_ can do? I am so sick of the reviews on here telling me to take a damn writing class and only focus on that and absolutely _nothing_ about the story itself. Writing classes are for people who want to pursue a career in writing, but I'm not one of them. _That's_ quite clear. At least to me it is, so why isn't it clear to any of you yet? May I remind you that , or any fanfiction for that matter, is for _amateur_ writers, which I am and am only planning to be, and I am perfectly fine with that. You may not be, but that's your problem, it's not mine. Some get better at it as they continue to write, some don't, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's not for everybody, and it sure as hell isn't for me. I've written this whole story from beginning to end. I'm not going to stop it now, and you're not going to make me. I'll make some adjustments before I publish each chapter, but that's it. I am more focused on the sequel to this, so yeah, you could say I don't really care about this story anymore. To be honest, I did kind of rush through this story so that I could start on the sequel for it, which I know I'm going to like writing more and so far do, but I also like to get to the point of things fast and move on to something else. You may not like it, but too bad. It's not your story, it's mine. If you don't like my story-and I mean the _story_ , not the damn grammar-don't waste your time reading it. It's that fucking simple.**

 **How is my grammar in my author notes at the end of these chapters? They may not be perfect, but they're probably a lot better than the chapter itself, which even I'll admit. How about my grammar in the chapters between the quotation marks when someone is talking to someone else? I think that's the only thing I'm really good at it, and I mean _good,_ not _great_.**

 **From this day on, if I get any reviews that only talk about my grammar and _nothing_ about the story itself, I'm going to delete them because I _do not_ need them to tell me something, yet again, that I was fully aware of long before I published this damn story.**

 **Now back to this chapter.**

 **Quiz time!**

 _What is the name of the song that Sarah sang, and who sings it in real life?_

 **Like last time, you can guess as many times as you'd like in your review. I'll tell you the answer in my author's note at the end of the next chapter tomorrow.**

 **Please review, and please think before you post. Thank you.**


	9. Guess Who's Going to be Dinner?

**Zak's POV**

Ok, well, seeing Sarah tonight and then kissing her was completely unexpected.

I really liked the kiss, but I don't think Sarah did, because after my parents interrupted us (thanks Mom and Dad) she seemed so scared and then ran off.

I told my parents why Sarah was here. Luckily, they didn't see the kiss. After that I went looking for Sarah.

I looked through most of the house and saw no sign of her.

I figured she might have went to her room, so I was about to go check when I realized how late it was. She was probably in bed by now, so I decided to leave her alone the rest of the night.

I went to my room, put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth, climbed into bed, and fell asleep a few minutes later.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up at about 8:00am.

I got up, got dressed, grabbed my sword and the claw, then I left my room to go eat breakfast. When I got to the kitchen, I noticed my parents were talking to Sarah, who was eating a bowl of cereal.

My mom was the first to notice me.

"Good morning, Zak," she said. "Want some breakfast?"

"Good morning," I said. "And sure. Cereal is ok."

Mom went to prepare my breakfast.

I sat in the chair next to Sarah. She finished eating her cereal and looked at me.

"Hi," she said in a kind of shy tone.

"Hi," I said.

She turned away from me and looked down at her empty bowl.

Mom brought me my bowl of cereal and laid it in front of me along with a spoon.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome," Mom said, then turned to Sarah. "So, Sarah, you got into a fight with your dad last night?"

"Yes," she said. "And then he and my mom fought about it because she disagreed with everything he said to me."

"I'm sorry."

"That's ok. Hopefully we'll get past this eventually, but probably not for a while."

"Ok," Dad said. "But why did you come here after the fight?"

"I had to get as far away from there as I could," Sarah said. "I hope you guys didn't mind."

"Not at all," Mom said. "But what about your brother and your mom?

"My twin brother kind of started the fight and he feels bad about it. My mom came and checked on me about an hour after I came back here. I'm not sure where she is now, but—"

"I'm right here," a voice interrupted. Raylee entered the kitchen. "Hey, guys." She sat down in the chair at the end.

"Did you stay here last night?" Sarah asked her.

"I couldn't stay here and leave Emily by herself."

"Wasn't Zack there?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't quite count on him to take care of her like I can with you."

"Yeah, I understand that."

"Who's Emily?" I asked.

"My baby sister," Sarah said, then turned away from me quickly.

I have to admit, that kind of hurt.

"So, how's Dad?" Sarah asked her mom, who was smiling at me and Sarah for some reason.

"He's . . . ok," she replied.

She continued to smile, and Sarah blushed. I had a feeling Sarah told her what happened between the two of us last night.

"Would you stop it already?" Sarah told her mom.

"Sarah, you know how I am in these kind of situations," she replied. "I can't help it."

"Well, can you at least try to?"

"I am."

"Well, you're not doing a very good job."

She glared at her.

"Ok," Dad said. "Well, we're going to, uh, leave now."

"I hope everything works out between you and your dad, Sarah," Mom said.

"Thanks," she replied. "I hope so too."

My parents left the room without another word.

"Emily's probably awake by now," Raylee said. "I'll see you two later. Bye."

"Bye, Mom," Sarah said.

Raylee summoned her powers and she was gone.

"Your powers are awesome," I said.

"Umm, thanks," Sarah said. "But I wouldn't know since my powers haven't activated yet."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." That was stupid for me to say.

We were silent for about a minute.

"Umm, Sarah," I said. "About last night—"

She stood up from her chair and ran out of the room before I could finish.

That actually hurt. I wonder if she'll ever talk to me again. But why is she acting that way?

I might never know.

* * *

Later on that day, I tried to talk to Sarah again, but she did the same thing: ran out of the room.

Eventually, Raylee, her Pikachu, Zack, and the animals came over. I talked to Zack in private for a while. I told him about last night, and how Sarah's been acting ever since.

He didn't really seemed surprised at all by the kiss. "Ok. But Sarah's been avoiding you all day?"

"Yes, and I don't know why," I said. "Do you think maybe she didn't like the kiss, or what?"

"Well, Sarah's never been in this kind of situation before, so you should give her some space. I mean, I was pretty nervous at the beginning of my relationship with Selena. But I got the hang of it eventually."

"Ok. But how long should I wait?"

"As long as it takes Sarah to be able to handle it," Zack said. "But it is weird, though, that she's acting this way toward you."

"Why is it weird?" I asked.

"Well, it's just . . . never mind."

"Ok . . ."

Fiskerton and Komodo entered the room a few moments later, and they were bored. They asked me if I could think of something for us to do.

"Nothing's really coming to mind," I told them, mostly because I couldn't stop thinking about Sarah.

"We could play hide-and-seek," Zack suggested. "Especially since this place is so big. And I probably could get Sarah to play since me and her play it all the time when we're bored."

That got my attention.

"Ok," I said. "How about you go ask her, and then meet us in the green house?"

"Ok."

He ran off to go find Sarah.

I turned to Fisk and Komodo. "Come on, guys."

We headed down to the greenhouse, taking the elevator. A few minutes later, Zack exited out of the elevator, along with Sarah. She still looked scared, but was doing her best to hide it.

"Hey, guys," she said. "So why are we playing in the green house?"

"Well, I was thinking that, instead of seeking each other, we seek these bands that we tie on our arms," I said, holding out a few green bands that I grabbed on my way here.

"Umm, ok."

She took a band, and Zack did too.

"So, like, if you take the band off of someone's arm, that person's out?" Sarah asked.

I nodded. "Right."

She looked at Zack.

"Ok," he said. "Do you play on teams?"

"Umm, if you guys want to, you can," I said.

"Alright," Sarah said. "Then it's me and Zack versus you three, ok?"

"Ok."

"But, again, why are we playing in here?"

"I figured this room would be the best place to play in because there's a lot of places to hide and other things too. I was thinking of playing in the dark to make it more interesting, if you two don't mind."

Sarah and Zack looked confused.

"Ok," Zack said. "I mean, we could play outside since it's almost dark, but in here's fine with me."

"Same here," Sarah said.

"Ok," I said.

Zack helped Sarah put on her band, and Sarah helped him with his and Komodo's too.

I was able to put on mine, but Fisk couldn't with his, so I put it on for him. I walked over to the control panel in the room, put my hand on the lever that turned off the lights.

"You two better go hide," I told Sarah and Zack.

They ran into the plants and they were gone. I couldn't help but smirk at the surprise plants that they're going to encounter and how they're going to react.

I pulled the lever down, and everything went dark.

It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, and I was able to see ok. I noticed Fiskerton and Komodo were waiting for me.

"Let's go, guys," I said.

We walked into the plants, watching carefully for which ones we walk into.

"Let's split up," I suggested.

Fisk and Komodo agreed. Komodo turned himself invisible and Fisk ran off to my right.

I took my cryptid inspector out of my pocket and pressed a few buttons on it. I heard different kinds of growling all around me.

You see, I planted some wireless speakers all around the room to emit cryptid sounds to scare mostly Fiskerton, but I don't think Sarah or Zack will be afraid of the sounds.

I walked around a couple more minutes, holding the claw ready, and then I heard a scream. It sounded like Sarah.

I probably should've told her about the man-eating plant, the thorn throwing plant, and the slime producing plant. But I couldn't help but laugh.

That is, until, I heard what sounded like a sword being unsheathed.

"Crap," I cursed, then ran to where the sound came from.

Once I got there, I saw one of the man-eating plants was cut in half.

Now I really wish I told them about the plants.

I was so distracted by the plant, I didn't notice Sarah coming up from behind me and snatch my arm band.

"You're out," she said. "Oh, and thanks for the warning." She gestured to the plant with her sword.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"That's ok. And where are those cryptid sounds coming from?"

"From this," I said, not being able to contain my smile. I held up my cryptid inspector for her to see.

"Hoping to scare me and my twin brother?" she asked.

"I didn't think it would scare you two," I admitted. "I actually did it to scare Fiskerton."

"But he's on your team. And speaking of which . . ."

She walked off to her right and disappeared. A few moments later, I heard Fiskerton sounding surprised about something.

Sarah must've taken his band.

I started laughing, and I found them about twenty feet away.

"You guys suck at this," Sarah said, holding up mine and Fisk's bands.

"That may be true," I said. "But you still have Komodo to find."

"Yeah. But now it's two against one. The odds are more in my favor."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

Sarah seemed to know what I was talking about, because just then, her arm band seemed to disappear.

Komodo became visible right next to her with her band in his mouth.

"Good job, Komodo," Sarah said, then petted him.

I was confused.

"Umm, did you know he was there?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"How?"

"How many times do I have to tell you about my aura before you remember it?"

"Oh. Right," I said. "But how come you let him take your band?"

"I decided to make it even. Now it's one against one."

"Ok."

I was still confused, but I decided to let it go.

"So, about the plant," Sarah said. "Are you going to get in trouble for it?"

"Probably," I said.

"Don't worry. I can get my mom to fix it before your parents find out."

"Umm, thanks, but you don't have to do that."

"Hey, I'm the one that killed it. I'm going to fix it."

I'll let her do that since I know by now there's no point in arguing with her.

"Ok, boys," I heard my mom say. "Game over."

We turned around and noticed my parents at the elevator doors, who were dressed up in formal clothing.

I tried to think of why they're dressed up in fancy clothes, then I remembered that today was their wedding anniversary.

"My plants need their artificial sunshine," Mom said, grabbing the lever and turning on the lights, which blinded us for a moment.

"The cryptid crops seem to be growing nicely underground," Dad noted.

"Incan sun stones, my love," Mom told him. "Work like magic."

"So photosynthesis is now caused by wizards and pixies?"

"Yes, and leprechauns make the stars twinkle at night," Mom said sarcastically. "It was a figure of speech, science cop. But if you want to see some real magic . . ."

She leaned in to kiss him, but I stopped before they made contact.

"Mom," I complained. "You turned on the lights to make us watch that?"

"We turned on the lights because your mother and I have dinner reservations in Marrakesh," Dad said. "And we'd like to beat traffic."

"But the game's not over until everybody's—"

I got interrupted when I noticed Zack taking Komodo's band, and Komodo was surprised by his sudden appearance.

"We win," Zack said, then gave Sarah a high-five.

"Game over," Dad said.

I sighed.

We all headed to the elevator.

"Alright, pile in," Dad said. "Your babysitter's gonna be here any minute."

That surprised me. "Babysitter?"

We all got into the elevator and took it to our kitchen, and we all got out.

"Don't even try to argue out of this one, Zak," Mom said. "You wanna know how we spent our last anniversary? Trapped in the belly of a giant squid."

We heard laughing behind us.

"Really?" Raylee said.

I turned around and noticed her, Pikachu, and the animals sitting at the counter or on the floor.

"Yes," Mom said. "And this year, we'd like to have some quality time without the intestinal juices."

"Absolutely," I agreed. "Take the whole weekend. Just no babysitter. I mean, think about it. It actually has the word baby in it."

Mom strapped her fire sword onto her back.

"You're bringing the fire sword?" Dad asked, surprised.

"I've been to Marrakesh," she said.

"We'll be inside a darkened restaurant, no light source to power it up . . . A cortex disruptor?"

Mom gave Dad a kiss on the cheek. "Genius. I'll hit the weapons vault and meet you in the airship. Say hi to Beeman for me. Love you."

She walked off.

"Beeman?" I asked, annoyed. "The UFO guy?"

"Show some respect, Zak," Dad said. "Dr. Beeman broke the Drozian Crop Circle code back in '83. Saved the whole earth from evasion."

"I heard about that," Sarah said. "And, to be honest, I didn't really care."

That made me smile.

"Mom, can't you babysit Zak?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, Doc," she said. "I would be happy to do so for you. Especially if Zak doesn't really like Dr. Beeman that much."

"No, that's ok, Raylee," Dad said. "Besides, it's kind of too late because he's almost here."

"Ok. But if that's the case, I'm going to go home, because I do not want to be here all night with an alien geek." She turned toward her pets. "Do you guys want to go home, too?"

"Yes!" the cubs said at the same time, maybe a little too enthusiastically.

"Yeah," Amber agreed. "Alien geeks are really weird."

"Ok." Raylee turned to Sarah and Zack. "Are you two going to stay?"

"I'll stay," Sarah said. "Can't leave Zak alone like this."

"Same here," Zack said.

"Oh, wait. Mom, can you do something for me before you go?"

"Sure," she said. "What?"

Sarah pointed at her forehead, then to her mom's. Raylee nodded like she understood. They stared at each other.

I found that very weird.

"Umm, ok," Raylee said after a minute. "But why did you cut it in half in the first place? Did it try to bite you or something?"

"Yes," Sarah replied.

She must've told her mom about the plant somehow.

"Ok," Raylee said, still confused. "I'll fix it."

"Thank you."

"Alright. We'll see you guys tomorrow. Have fun."

She activated her powers, her hand glowing white, and she and her pets were gone.

"Ok," Dad said. "Let's go to the roof."

While on the way there, I held Sarah back a little bit.

"So how did you tell your mom about the plant, exactly?" I whispered so that Dad wouldn't hear me.

"Through telepathy," she whispered back. "That's another thing our powers can do."

"Cool."

When we got to the roof, we saw Dr. Beeman landing his homemade UFO ship.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sarah said. "He must be really serious about aliens."

"Weird families have weird friends," Zack said.

" _We're_ the weird ones," I said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Sarah said. "All families are weird in their own way.

"Fine.

Dr. Beeman came out of his ship and he was carrying a duffel bag by his side. He walked over to us.

"Thank you for this, Arthur," Dad said, holding his hand out.

He shook it, then turned toward me, bent down and smelt my hair, which was really weird. I guess Zack was right: I have a weird family, so my parents would have weird friends.

"You like discipline," Dr. Beeman said. "I can smell it on your spiky hair cut."

"What?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Be smart," Dad told us, then ran up the platform of the airship to join Mom.

It ascended from the roof and flew off.

"Who might you two be?" Dr. Beeman asked, looking at Sarah and Zack.

"My name's Sarah," Sarah said. "And this is my twin brother, Zack. And if you come near my hair, much less, smell it, I'm going to punch you out."

"Huh," he said. "I'm going to call you Beauty Queen, and you Flat Head."

Sarah and Zack looked offended by those nicknames. I can understand. But Sarah? I think she should take that as a compliment, because I agree.

"Flat Head?" Zack asked. "Who am I, Littlefoot?"

"Why can't you just call us by our actual names?" Sarah demanded.

Dr. Beeman just ignored them. He laid his duffel bag down, and unzipped it.

"Ok, Spiky, Fuzzy Wuzzy, Beauty Queen, Flat Head, who likes watching movies?"

He pulled a few DVDs out of his bag and held them up.

"I do," Fisk and I said.

"I do, too," Zack said. "But my powers tell me that we're not going to like the movie that you have in mind."

Dr. Beeman continued to ignore him, and pointed to his bag. "Bag," which meant that he wanted one of us to carry it inside.

"You know," Sarah said. "I just met you, and I already don't like you."

"I get that a lot."

"That doesn't surprise me one bit."

"Bag." He walked inside.

"I really hate him," Sarah said. "Every time he opens his mouth he sounds like he's speaking sarcastically." Then she grinned for some reason and looked at Zack. "Do it."

"Gladly," he said.

He walked over to the bag and picked it up.

"Wait," I said. "Do what?"

"I'm going to throw it at him really hard," Zack said, gesturing to the bag.

"No."

I'll admit, I wanted him to do it, but even I knew that wasn't right.

I grabbed for the bag, and he let it go. It dropped to the ground. I tried to pick it up, but it was really heavy.

"How were you able to pick it up so easily?" I asked Zack.

"I have super strength," he said.

"Ok."

Fiskerton picked up part of the bag and we headed inside.

"So what are we going to do?" Sarah asked me. "We know you hate him just as much as we do."

"Don't worry, guys," I assured them. "I'm thinking of a plan."

"Fine. But you better think of one quick before I end up killing him with my sword."

"I'll try."

We entered into the living room where Dr. Beeman was waiting for us. We sat down on the couch in front of the TV while Dr. Beeman placed a movie in the VCR.

He gave us things to hold that I didn't even care enough to know what they even were.

It turns out Zack was right. We weren't going to like the movie. It was all about fake UFO sightings. Typical of Dr. Beeman.

"Mark it," he said. "Hour seven, minute twelve, at thirty-two point seven seven seconds. Another fake. What are these jokers trying to pull? Tell me that exhaust part is gonna handle atmosphere re-entry. Just tell me."

I was not paying any attention at all, and neither were Fiskerton, Sarah, or Zack. We all were just really bored.

"You know you should be laughing at this," Dr. Beeman told us.

"Oh, believe me, I am," Sarah said.

"Sorry. Yeah," I said. "It's very funny."

"No, it's not," Zack said. "It's very boring."

Dr. Beeman gestured back to the movie. "These are all fakes, hoaxes, amateurs. Where's the erratic flight patterns? The high frequency sound waves? The power fluctuations? At least put some effort into it."

That built a lot of anger inside of him that he pounded the table next to him, which scared Fisk up onto the ceiling. I looked up at him, and he was shaking.

"Ah, maybe there's something better in the other eighteen hours," Dr. Beeman muttered and walked off to get them. "Don't touch my stuff."

"Would never dream of it," Sarah said.

I decided enough was enough.

"No, uh-uh, we're dumping this guy right now," I said.

"Finally," Sarah said, standing up from the couch. "What's the plan."

"I don't know. But we have to do something. I can't take another eighteen hours of fake UFO—Oh, yeah."

"What?" Zack asked.

"I have an idea," I said with a crazy grin on my face. "To the balcony."

When we got to the balcony, I whistled for Zon. She came flying by a few moments later and landed in front of me.

"Ok, guys, here's the plan," I said.

I told them and they understood completely.

"Ok," Sarah said. "So by colorful lights, you mean, like, Christmas lights?"

I nodded. "Yes. Zack, do you think you can summon us some with your powers?"

In response to my question, he activated his powers and a small strand of lights suddenly appeared in his hands and the lights were somehow on.

"Is this enough?" he asked.

"It should be," I said.

I grabbed the strand from him, then turned toward Zon. I stranded the lights onto her, and Sarah helped me. When we were finished, she looked like a Christmas tree, which was pretty insulting to her.

"Ok," Sarah said. "Is that comfortable?"

Zon cawed in response.

"She says that the lights are a little hot against her," Zack translated.

"Don't worry, Zon," I reassured her. "You just need to do some loops in the sky for a few minutes. And if you do this, I'll give you a whole bucket of fresh fish."

She cooed again.

"She wants a fish right now," Zack said.

"Ok. Umm, do you think you can summon some of that for me too?"

He rolled his eyes, but he did as I asked, a whole bucket of fish appearing in his hands.

"Thank you," I said.

I grabbed a fish out of the bucket and fed it to Zon, who ate it happily.

"Ok, you got your fish for now," I said. "Now go."

She took off from the ground and did circles into the night sky.

"Here, Komodo," Sarah said, grabbing a whole fish and handing it to him. "You can have one, too."

He took it with his mouth and ate it.

Dr. Beeman was in his ship on the roof just above our level. I hoped he noticed Zon in the sky.

"Erratic flight patterns," I heard him say, which I will took as a yes. "No earth-made aircraft maneuvers like that."

I heard him drop something, possibly more duffel bags of lame, boring movies, and I bet he ran back to his ship.

The four of us laughed a little bit.

Zon cawed out and landed on her nest in front of us.

"Come on, Zon," I told her. "Give me a couple more good circles, just to seal the deal."

I threw her another fish. She caught it in her jaw and ate it, then took flight again.

I pulled out the speakers I had used earlier for the game out of my pocket and handed them to Fisk. "High-frequency sound waves. No UFO sighting's complete without."

"It's funny how we're using the little information he taught us, that we even remember, against him," Sarah said.

"I think we'll get bonus points for putting in a lot of effort to get rid of him," Zack said.

"You got to be as convincing as possible," I said.

"Yep."

Fisk looked concerned, and questioned me.

"I swear Mom and Dad will never know," I said.

He took the speakers and went to place them up on the roof. I pulled out my controller and played some sounds.

"Visuals promising," I heard Dr. Beeman say. "And yet no sonic confirmation, but—"

The sound from the speakers played the usual kind of UFO music.

"Sweet Galvin Prime."

"Who?" Sarah whispered to me.

I shrugged. I fist bumped Fisk, Sarah, and Zack.

"Still," Dr. Beeman continued. "A curious lack of power fluctuations."

I face palmed myself. "The power fluctuations."

I ran inside and went toward the power room. When I got there, I pulled out the claw and threw into the controls. The spot where it hit the machine sparked and everything went dark.

Yeah, I figured that would be easier and quicker than just pressing so many buttons.

I left the claw in there for now, wait to come back and get it later. I ran to the living room, meeting back up with Sarah, Zack, and Fisk, and got back just in time before Dr. Beeman entered the room. We sat down on the couch and pretended that nothing happened, except one thing.

"Hey, Dr. Beeman," I said. "The power's out. I hope we can still log all your photoage and everything."

 _Yeah_ , Fisk agreed.

"Listen, Skunk Du, I—I gotta get back to my lab," he said, leaving the room and we followed. "I don't have the equipment here to document a sighting of this magnitude."

"S—Sighting?" I asked. "Like—Like a UFO? Did we miss something?"

Sarah and Zack were doing their best to contain their laughter.

"Ah, yeah, you missed your last 'Don't ask stupid questions' lesson," Dr. Beeman said.

I frowned.

"Haircut, you're in charge 'til I get back," Dr. Beeman continued. "Don't eat dirt, don't stick your finger in anything but a glove, and don't soil your training pants. If these aliens were hostile, we never would've seen them coming."

He went into his UFO ship, ascended from the ground a minute later, and he

gone.

"Good riddance," Sarah said.

"Alright," I cheered, giving everyone a high-five.

"And he calls himself a scientist," Sarah said. "He's not a very smart one."

"That's for sure," Zack agreed.

"Let's go see if we can get the power back on," I said.

* * *

At the power control room, I pulled the claw out of the controls and looked over the entire system.

"Huh?" I said. "Oh, great. We caused a full system reboot."

"We?" Sarah said. "You're the one who threw your claw into it. You couldn't have just pressed a button or a switch?"

"It wouldn't have been realistic enough. But fine. _I_ caused a full system reboot. It's gonna be a while before we get the power back. But at least we have emergency lighting. And the whole house is ours. I'm in charge, and Zak Saturday here by decrees: Let there be fun."

I did a kind of evil laugh, and that really scared Sarah and Zack.

"That was creepy," Sarah said.

"Sorry," I said. "Now let's go have some fun."

* * *

We played a couple video games, which we were able to do thanks to Zack's powers, and Sarah beat us most of the time.

We played with actual robots, using controllers, and I won by beheading the others robots heads. Then we went to the bottom floor where we keep our underground submarine, which is connected to a tunnel that goes straight to the ocean.

Zack and I rode electronic surfboards and pulled Sarah and Fiskerton behind us. We went to the kitchen to get something to eat.

I stocked a whole lot of meat, ketchup, marshmallows between two slices of bread and made a big sandwich, Zack also doing the same, both of us making a mess.

Just before I was about to take a big bite, I noticed Fiskerton trying to catch a bird that was flying away from him between his own two slices of bread, which I found weird, disturbing, and even wondered where the bird came from.

"I am not watching you eat that," I told him.

"And I'm not watching any of you eat that, either," Sarah said, gesturing to mine and Zack's sandwiches.

"You don't have to," Zack said, and took a bite out of his sandwich.

I did the same with mine. Sarah laughed and diverted her gaze from us.

I noticed Komodo get onto the counter and looked out the window.

"Easy, Komodo," I assured him. "We'll clean all this up before Mom and Dad get home. You worry too much."

He didn't seem convinced.

Next, we went to the weapons vault.

"Experimental Weapons vault," I said.

Fiskerton was worried.

"No, it's ok," I assured him. "The power's off. If we got caught, we can just tell Mom and Dad we were . . . worried about the alien invaders."

I opened the doors and entered the vault, then I opened a chest full of weapons.

"Umm, Zak," Sarah said. "I don't think your parents are stupid."

"Yeah, I don't think they are either," I said. "But that's the only thing that I can come up with."

"Whatever."

I pulled some weapons out of the chest that looked interesting and handed them to Fiskerton.

"And that's why I'm in charge," I said. "The perfect plan. Not a single thing that I didn't think of."

Then suddenly the ceiling collapsed, and a man appeared out of the debris, though he looked kind of mechanical.

Fisk, Sarah, and Zack looked at me.

"What?" I said. "Like I was supposed to see that coming?"

The man bared his teeth, which were actually fangs, and charged at us.

Fiskerton grabbed me and pulled me out of the way. We got into the hallway and ran, the man chasing us.

Fiskerton was still holding the weapons that I gave him, so I grabbed one of them. The man was only a few feet away from us, trying to bite at Fisk's feet. I used the weapon, which was an electrifying rod, at the man and summoned electricity to it.

"Come on, ugly—"

Before I could use it, the man grabbed the end of it with his bare fangs and pulled back.

Unfortunately, I didn't let it go, so he pulled me along with it, and Fiskerton too since he was carrying me and also didn't let me go.

The man threw us behind him, and we landed on the ground. The weapons spilled out of Fiskerton's hands and skittered all around the floor, but I noticed one that might be helpful to us.

"Mom's fire sword," I said.

I didn't realize I had grabbed it. I picked it up and tried to use its fire blasting technique, but it didn't work.

"But no light force to power it," I said. "Oh, come on."

The man came toward us, but suddenly he tripped and slammed into the wall. Komodo became visible at the opposite wall from him.

I decided to take a picture of the man with my phone to maybe find out who or what he was, because he definitely wasn't human. The flash dazed him a little bit.

We ran to the elevator shaft, where Sarah, Zack, Fisk, and Komodo were waiting for me.

"Move guys, go," I told them. "I'm coming."

Fiskerton opened up the doors, then I climbed onto his back, he picked up Komodo, and jumped, grabbing onto the cords, and we slid down. Zack grabbed Sarah around the waist and they flew down behind us.

I noticed the man at the top where we just were a moment before, and he had Mom's fire sword in his hand. He cut the cords to the elevator and the three of us started to fall even faster.

Luckily, though, Fiskerton was able to grab onto a vent passage way as we were falling by it, and with Sarah and Zack's help, we were able to get into it. The vent led to the greenhouse.

"Come on," I said. "We'll lose him in the crops."

The man broke the doors from the elevator.

We ran around the greenhouse a little bit before we hid behind a big bush that concealed us well. The guy stopped in front of us. He didn't seem to notice us, and continued on.

"I have an idea," I whispered. "Stay here."

They didn't protest.

I ran out of the bush, then tried to get the guy's attention.

"Hey, Big Mouth," I called to him, thirty feet away, getting him to notice me. "You're making this too easy. Can't you even catch a few kids and a couple of dumb animals?"

Ok. The dumb animals comment was a little offensive, but right now, it didn't matter.

The guy had disappeared. I looked around, but saw no sign of him. Then, just below the ridge in front of me, he jumped at me, his fangs bared.

I dodged him and ran toward the thorny plants, him chasing after me.

When I reached them, I slid under them, then the man appeared and the plants shot their thorns at him, sending him flying backward, and he landed in the slime near the slime producers with my mom's fire sword landing point-first next to him.

I ran back to where Sarah, Zack, Fiskerton, and Komodo were, and they were near the elevator.

He roared in anger.

"Zak, what is that thing?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know," I said. "But that's not going to hold him long. We need help. We gotta call somebody."

 _The powers out_ , Fiskerton said.

"I know the powers out. I'm just trying to think of—" Then a thought came to me. "Wait. The Saturday Sub has its own power source, and its own satellite communications. Come on."

* * *

We got to the sub. I turned on the power to it and it came on.

"Ok, we're warming up," I said. "Comms should be online in a minute."

Fiskerton and Komodo were looking at the picture I had taken of the guy. They were worried.

"It'll be ok, guys," I assured them. "Beeman put me in charge, and I promise I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you. You trust me?"

They had a little doubt in their faces.

"Hey, we're brothers, right?" I said. "We gotta take care of each other."

"That's true," Sarah said.

We all looked at the picture.

"That is one nasty looking dude," I said. "I wonder what he wants. Working for Argost? Let me see that." I took it out of Fisk's hand. "I'm gonna run his retina scan through the International Criminal Data Base and see if we get any matches."

While doing so, I noticed a red light blinking on the controls of the sub.

"Alright, we're live," I announced, grabbing the walkie-talkie. "Time to call in some back up."

"Zak, he's here," Zack said.

I looked out the window and noticed the guy jump into the water and swim toward us. A moment later, the sub shook. A hole appeared in the bottom and water started to pour in really fast.

"Mayday. Anyone!" I called into the walkie-talkie. "This is Zak Saturday—"

The water washed over the controls, causing sparks, and cutting the connection. The man appeared through the hole he made in the bottom.

We got out of the sub and ran toward the elevator, but it was blocked by a lot of debris. The man got out of the water and walked toward us.

I noticed something on the wall, and thought that it could help.

"Komodo, the airlock," I said.

I put my hand on the lever and was about to turn it when Komodo put his paw on my hand, stopping me momentarily, reminding me what would happen if I turned it.

"Yes, I know what's going to happen," I told him. "You wanna take your chance with the jawbreaker guy instead?"

The man growled and started running toward us.

Komodo and I turned the lever and a whole chain reaction of water busted out of the wall like geysers, the very last one blasting the guy into the water, but also all of them filling up the room and blocking the exits.

"Ok," Sarah said. "Now what?"

"Well, there's gotta be another way out of here," I said.

"I can teleport us all out of here," Zack suggested. "Just tell me where."

"Outside."

Zack summoned his powers, and a moment later, we were standing in front of my house and were, somehow, all dry.

"Let's head for the back gate," I said.

We ran for it. A moment later I noticed the lights turn on from inside the house.

"Lights," I said. "The system must have finished rebooting. Then we're home free."

I pulled out my cryptid inspector from my pocket and pressed a button on it, hoping that it would open the gate, but it didn't.

"It's not opening," I said. "What's going on?"

I pressed the button a few more times, but the gate still wouldn't open.

"Zack, do you think you can blast the gate with your powers?" I asked.

"I'll try," he said, then summoned a fire ball to his hands and threw it at the gate.

It seemed to work at first, but then all of a sudden, the fire ball hit something, like a force field, and flew right back at us twice as fast.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to dodge it in time. It hit us all, causing a little explosion, knocking us to the ground. It burned really hot.

"How did that do that?" Sarah asked. She didn't appear to be hurt.

"I don't know," Zack said. "But I sense something there."

"What?" I asked.

"A force field."

"What? How did—? Oh, no."

"What?" Sarah demanded.

"The mouth guy. He's reversed the security system. Instead of keeping people out, it's keeping us in. Guys, I don't think he's after the Kur stone. I think this freak wants us."

"For what?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know. Ah, this is all my fault."

"No, it's not, Zak. At least, not entirely."

Fisk agreed with her, telling me I didn't know he would be here.

"Yeah, I know," I said. "But I promised you'd be ok, right? I'm gonna fix this. The power's back on. That means the communicators are too."

Fisk was concerned.

"No, listen," I said. "I'm gonna distract him. I'll head for Zon's nest right out in the open. He should take the bait. Fiskerton and Sarah, head for—"

"I wanna go with you," Sarah interrupted.

"Fine. Fisk, you gotta sneak out to the front gate and put out a distress call. Mom and Dad, Dr. Beeman, whoever you can get. Give us a minute to get his attention, then go. Everybody got it?"

They all nodded.

Sarah, Zack, and I ran to find the guy while Komodo ran off to somewhere else, turning invisible in the process, and Fisk hid and waited.

We came to a certain area around the house, then I started to get the guy's attention.

"It's all clear, guys!" I called out, making sure my voice was heard. "We must've lost him in the sub pen. Sarah, Zack and I are just gonna check on Zon, then we'll head back to the house, ok? Guys?"

"You're very convincing," Sarah said sarcastically.

I glared at her.

We reached Zon's nest, but she wasn't in it. Then we heard a sound behind us. We turned around and saw Zon coming out of the forest with Komodo behind her, who turned visible.

He bit her leg. She cawed in protest.

"No, Komodo, hey," I told him. "Let her go. Knock it off, guys. There's something not right here. Why didn't the big mouth guy take the bait?"

"Maybe he didn't hear you," Zack said.

I thought about it, but then my cryptid inspector started beeping. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at it.

"We've got a match," I said.

Sarah and Zack came on either side of me and the three of us read the information.

"He calls himself Piecemeal," I said. "Criminally insane. Surgically altered jaws? Why would he—"

"Zak, read this," Zack said, pointing.

I read more, and what I read next, shocked me.

"Oh, no," I said. "This freak eats rare exotic animals. One of each kind. He's even got a check list. This guy doesn't care about me. He wants—"

"Fiskerton," Sarah finished.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"That is just disgusting."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We have to save him."

"We're going to, Zak," Sarah said. "He should be at that gate by now."

"Let's go."

We ran as fast as we could, but when we finally reached the gate, Fiskerton wasn't there. I was really worried.

"Where could he be?" I asked.

"Zack?" Sarah asked.

"He's in the kitchen," he said.

"Is he still alive?"

"Yes. For now, anyway."

"Let's go," I said.

Sarah and I climbed onto Zon's back, Zack picked up Komodo, and we flew toward the kitchen.

We entered the kitchen through an open window. Fiskerton was tied up on the table. Piecemeal was about to take a bite out of his head, but Zon knocked him away with her wings.

Sarah and I jumped off her back, then Sarah cut the ropes from around Fisk with her sword.

Piecemeal got up from the ground and ran toward us, but I slingshot the claw at him, hitting him in the chest and knocked him backward. He landed on the stove, which he had apparently turned on, and it burned him.

Fiskerton grabbed some lemons that were in a bowl on the counter and squeezed them to spray lemon juice in Piecemeal's face when he came at him again.

I took that moment to jump at him and hit him with the claw, but he just grabbed it with his bare fangs and threw me back, knocking me into Fisk, who caught me, and we both fell to the ground.

Zon cawed and flew at Piecemeal. He met her head-on and they slammed heads, him knocking her backward and she tumbled to the floor.

Piecemeal advanced on Fisk, his fangs ready to bite, but I got into his path, standing in front of him.

"Stay away from my brother," I said.

"Aww, that's so sweet," Piecemeal said. "But his species is on my list."

He pushed me aside and tried to grab Fisk, but Fisk put his feet on either side of his head and started punching him.

Komodo came over to me invisibly with two controllers on his back. I picked them up.

"Got a taste of the unusual, huh?" I said. "Then take a bite of this, freak."

I used one of the controllers to bring my robot into the kitchen, coming through a door that opened across the room.

Piecemeal threw Fisk off of him, then my robot came at him with its chainsaw-hand ready, slicing at his head, and him dodging it.

I gave the other remote to Fisk, and he activated his robot with a blowtorch-hand out into the kitchen to join the other.

"Zak, let's go," Sarah said, calling to me by the exit with Zack.

We left the robots to keep Piecemeal occupied and we all ran out of the room. We ran to the roof.

"Fisk, get up to the landing platform," I told him, pushing him toward it. "Zon will fly you out of here. Go."

I pushed him up the stairs of the platform, and he ran to the center of it.

I heard Piecemeal behind us. I turned to face him. He grabbed onto my arms and lifted me into the air.

"You ruined dinner," he said.

I think he was about to take a bite out of my head, when I notice his eyes widen.

I heard Fiskerton growl from the platform behind me, and he jumped at Piecemeal. He let me go, then he and Fisk tumbled into the open elevator shaft and fell.

Sarah, Zack, and I ran to a different floor.

Fisk and Piecemeal broke through the doors of the elevator at the bottom floor where the greenhouse was and they wrestled on the ground, Piecemeal on top.

"Fiskerton," I said. I jumped on to Piecemeal's back and tried to pull him off of Fisk. "Your dinner's over, freak. I told you to leave him alone."

I wasn't able to pull him off, but then I noticed Mom's fire sword lying on the ground a few feet away from us. I ran to it and picked it up, ready to aim it at Piecemeal, who noticed.

"You think a sword will stop me?" He asked.

"Just add sunlight," I said.

I whistled, and Komodo, Sarah, and Zack got the message, pulling the lever down to turn on the light from the sun stones in the whole room.

The fire sword was like a lightning rod. The sun stone's light was attracted to its blade, summoning a big fireball at its tip. I could practically feel how strong it was, which seemed to scare Piecemeal, because he let go of Fisk and braced himself.

Fisk quickly got out of the way.

"Get out of my house," I told Piecemeal.

I shot the fireball at him with enough force to knock him against the wall and break through it to the outside, and he fell hundreds of feet to the water below.

We all looked out of the crater in the wall to watch him fall. We waited to see him resurface over the water, but he never did. He was gone. We all had grins on our faces.

"That was so cool, Zak," Sarah said.

"That was pretty cool, wasn't it?" I said. "And we're ok."

"Guess again," Zack said, not sounding happy.

I didn't know what he meant until I realized he wasn't looking out the crater.

We turned around and saw Dr. Beeman standing behind us, which startled some of us.

"Mark it," he said. "Hour twenty-one, minute seven, and fifty-one-point-eight-four-zero seconds. Another fake."

He threw our Christmas lights on the ground in front of us.

"Huh," Sarah said. "I guess you're not that stupid after all."

"You jokers have a nice party while I was gone?" he asked.

Fiskerton was so happy that he went up to him and gave him a hug, which he didn't really like.

* * *

We told Dr. Beeman what happened, but he didn't really believe us, and I had to stop Sarah from slicing him in half. Then about an hour or so later, Mom and Dad returned home, Dr. Beeman left, and we told them what happened.

Now we're all looking through the cameras, and a few of the screens were showing me with the fire sword and summoning the fireball, and kept replaying it.

I did look cool when I did that.

"To be honest, Zak, we don't even know what to make of this," Dad said after looking through the photoage. "You put yourself, your brothers, and your friends at horrible risk with that UFO stunt."

"But, on the other hand," Mom said. "You showed a lot of maturity and ingenuity in fighting off this Piecemeal."

I looked at my friends.

"So, are you gonna ground me or raise my allowance?" I asked. "I mean, I'd be willing to leave it to a coin toss or something."

"Oh, there will be punishment," Dad promised. "We'll talk tomorrow morning."

"For now, bed time," Mom said. "It's been a long night."

"'Night, Mom. 'Night, Dad," I told them.

The rest of them all said good night, then me, Fisk, Zack, Sarah, and Komodo left the room together.

We were walking down the hallways to our bedrooms, and we came to mine first.

"Well, I guess we'll see you in the morning," Sarah told me.

I really wanted to talk to her before the day ended, and now would probably be a good time.

"Wait, Sarah," I said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She hesitated. "Alone? Umm, sure." She turned to the others. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Good night," Zack said.

He continued down the hall. Fiskerton and Komodo followed.

Sarah and I went into my room, Sarah still hesitant, and we both sat down on my bed, sitting a few inches apart.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Sarah asked.

"Well, why have you been avoiding me all day?" I asked.

"Well, after what happened last night, I got scared." She avoided my gaze. "I mean, that was completely unexpected."

"So are you saying that you didn't like the kiss?"

"No, it's not that. It's just, I'm afraid that my dad will find out about it."

"Why? Does he not like me or something?" I asked. "He's never even met me before. Why would he—"

A thought came to mind, and I had a feeling that that's why Sarah was afraid about her dad finding out about the kiss.

"What?" Sarah asked, noticing my sudden stop.

"Sarah, that friend you were telling me about that your dad doesn't want you to see anymore," I said carefully. "Is that friend me?"

The corner of her mouth turned up a bit. "Sometimes you're smarter than you seem to be. But, yes, you're the friend that my dad doesn't want me to see anymore."

"Why?"

"Because . . . because I like you."

I thought she did. Just the way she was acting toward me gave it away.

"Ok," I said. "But why is your dad telling you that just because you like me?"

"Because he's my dad," she said. "Most fathers are a little overprotective of their daughters."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess they just don't want them to grow up. But eventually, they're going to have to realize when it's time to let go."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not going to stop seeing you, that's for sure," she said.

"Ok. But I'm guessing your mom doesn't care that you like me?"

She shook her head. "No. She lets me and my brother do pretty much whatever we want. She does watch carefully with the friends we make, but she knows that we have good judgment. She believes that after the kids are eighteen, that parents don't have a right to control them anymore. It's time for them to make their own decisions, good or bad. Even though I'm not eighteen, she knows you, and that's why she was mad at my dad for telling me to stop seeing you just because I like you."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I like you too," I said.

"I know," Sarah said, which surprised me.

"You know?"

"Yes. You didn't hide it as well as you think you did."

"Oh." I blushed. "So you did like the kiss?"

Sarah looked at me and smiled. Then she leaned in and kissed me, which also surprised me.

After a few more seconds, she pulled back.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked.

I just smiled, then leaned in and kissed her again, and she kissed me back.

I wrapped my arm around her waist, she put her hand against my neck, and we pulled ourselves closer to each other.

I opened my mouth a little bit, and I felt Sarah stick her tongue through it. When she did that last night, it really surprised me, but I guess I got use to it. I stuck my tongue into her mouth, too, and it felt kind of weird, but I liked it.

After a few more minutes of kissing, we pulled away for air.

That was so much better than last night, because at least we weren't interrupted this time.

"I should probably go to bed now," Sarah said after getting her breath back.

"Ok," I said.

She kissed me a few more times. "Good night."

"'Night."

She kissed me one last time, then she stood up from the bed and left the room without another look at me.

I was smiling uncontrollably.

I knew she liked me. I also loved the way she kisses me.

This night turned out to be a really great night. And I couldn't think of anything better.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. And yay, Sarah and Zak are officially a couple now.**

 **Nobody guessed my quiz yesterday, but the answer to the song that Sarah sang was:** _Too Young, by Sabrina Carpenter._ **It's a good song. I'll have it posted on my wiki if you guys want to listen to it.**

 **I'll update again tomorrow. Please review.**


	10. Eevee Catastrophe

**Sarah's POV**

Wow. Just wow.

I kissed Zak, again, and he kissed me. I could just scream my head off!

Ok. I'm going a little crazy. But I can't believe that this is happening, and this soon. I mean, I've only known him for about two weeks now. In some ways, this could be bad, but it's not.

Every time me and Zak see each other there's always this little spark between us, and it's been that way ever since we met.

Maybe we'll get married someday. Ok. I am definitely getting way in over my head.

My mom says that I shouldn't think that I might marry a guy until I've dated him for at least a year, so I'm going to take her advice on that and try to think of something else.

Maybe we'll have a couple kids. I mean, umm . . . augh. Why is it so damn hard?

I hope I don't become like those girls at school who think that they're going to marry their boyfriends whom they just got together with, or their secret crushes, and write his last name next to their first name.

Oooo . . . I wonder how that would sound. Sarah—no. Don't even think about it.

Maybe if I get some breakfast that'll help clear my head. So I got out of bed, got dressed, grabbed my sword and scabbard, buckled it around my waist, and left the room.

On my way out, I ran right into Zack—literally—and we both fell to the ground with me on top of him.

"Hey," he complained. "Watch where you're going."

"Sorry," I told him. "I didn't expect you to walk by just as I came out the door."

"Yeah. Same here."

We both laughed. I stood up from on top of him and held out my hand to him, which he grabbed, and I pulled him up from the floor.

"So, what happened with you and Zak last night?" Zack asked with a mischievous smile on his face.

I blushed. "I'll tell you later. Right now, I need to clear my head."

"Ok."

We headed toward the kitchen.

On the way there, we ran into Zak, not literally this time. And, of course, he was wearing his usual clothing with his sword and the claw at his side.

"Good morning, Zak," I said, blushing again.

"Good morning, Sarah," he replied, also with a blush.

"Did you sleep alright?"

"I slept great. You?"

"Good. I'm glad."

I smiled at him, and he smile back. We probably would've stared like that for a while if my twin brother hadn't interrupted.

"What am I, chop liver?" Zack said.

I gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, Zack."

"That's ok. I was actually expecting it."

I rolled my eyes at him, then turned back to Zak. "We're going to get some breakfast. Wanna come?"

"Sure," he replied.

He stood beside me and we continued walking.

Having them both walking on either side of me made me think that they were my body guards, which they kind of were. At least, Zack, anyway.

He's always protected me from bullies and vice versa. I'd say we're both pretty lucky to have each other's back.

"Did you tell him?" Zak whispered to me.

"Not yet," I whispered back.

"You're actually going to tell him?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, just the fact that he's your brother. I mean, it's kind of weird."

"Says you."

"Uh, you two do know that I have super hearing, right?" Zack asked, interrupting our conversation.

I rolled my eyes at him again. "Yes. I do, anyway. But can't you control it?"

"Yes. But I can still hear you two talking to each other without it."

"Whatever."

We finally got to the kitchen, and once we entered it, we noticed Doc and Drew standing near the counter, enjoying a cup of coffee.

"'Morning, Mom and Dad," Zak said.

"Good morning, Zak," Drew said. "And Sarah and Zack. How about you three take a seat?"

We sat down across from them.

"Now, Zak," Doc started, looking serious. "Your mother and I decided on what punishment to give you for what you did last night . . ."

Ok. Long story short. Zak's punishment is no TV for a week and some other things, but he didn't seem to really care that much. But why would he?

I held up my index finger. "What about us?"

"We'll let your mother decide on that," Drew said.

I nodded. "Ok."

"You'll let their mother decide on what?" my mom asked.

She entered the room, followed by the animals, with Pikachu on her shoulders, as usual.

"Hi, Mom," I said.

"Hi, Sarah, and hello to the rest of you," she said. "Now what do you guys mean by 'We'll let your mother decide on that'? Decide on what?"

"Our punishment," Zack said simply.

"Your punishment for what? What did you two do?"

I looked at Zack and we both came to a silent agreement.

"How about we talk about this in private?" I suggested.

"Ok," Mom said.

Zack and I stood up from our seats, but just before we left the room, I leaned toward Zak. "I'll meet you outside as soon as I'm done talking to my mom, ok?" I whispered in his ear.

He nodded. "Ok."

I left the room with my family and we headed down the hallway toward the living room.

Zack and I took turns explaining what happened last night along the way. I decided to leave out the part about me and Zak for now. After we finished, Mom couldn't help but laugh.

"Ok, well, I don't really blame you two for helping Zak get rid of him," she said.

"You don't?" Zack and I asked, even though we weren't really surprised.

"No. I've always told you two that you don't have to tolerate someone you don't like if you don't want to, especially if that person is pissing you off."

Zack and I laughed.

We remember a couple times where someone pissed off Mom (most of the time it was our dad), and she gave that person a piece of her mind. (Not literally, of course. Here's a little advice: don't ever make our mom mad or you're gonna get it.)

"So we're not punished?" I asked.

"Have I ever really punished you before?" Mom replied with another question.

"No."

"Then there you go."

"Ok. Thanks. I think," Zack said. He turned to me. "So, Sarah, how about you tell us what happened with you and Zak last night?"

He had that mischievous smile on his face again.

"What's he talking about?" Mom asked me.

I told them every single detail about it, even the couple make out sessions, which was really weird, but they seemed to like it a little bit.

"Wow, Sarah," Toto said.

I blushed. "I know.

"Good for you," Honey said.

"Way to go," Kika said.

"Thank you," I said.

"Does this mean that you and Zak are dating now?" Chewie asked.

"Umm, I don't know. I guess so."

"You're a hypocrite," Zack said.

I glared at him. "Shut up."

"Well, you kind of are."

"I kind of am, yes."

"Wait, Zack," Mom said. "Why are you calling her a hypocrite?"

He looked at me to explain.

I looked at Mom. "I wrote a song about this kind of situation, and in the chorus one line says ''Cause I don't want to fall in love'"

You heard me right. I write songs. It's kind of my hobby, and I love doing it.

"Oh, ok," Mom said. "But it doesn't mean you get to call her that, Zack. I mean, it's just a song."

I glared at her. "It's not just a song. Every song I write means something. I don't write them just to write them. I write them based on what's going on in my life or how I feel about something. Every song has a story behind it. At least, every one of my songs do."

Ok. That may have come out harsher than I meant it to.

"I know," Mom said calmly. "You've told me that a million times before."

"And I will tell you it a million times again," I said.

"I'm sure you will. But, Sarah, why would you write a song with the lyrics 'I don't want to fall in love'? Why don't you want to fall in love?"

"Well, for starters, the next line after that is 'If I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack.'"

"Are you having one right now?"

"An emotional one, yes."

Mom laughed. "Ok. But is that really the only reason you don't want to fall in love? I mean, falling in love can be a great thing if it's with the right person."

"Yeah. At least until you get your heart broken for the first time," I said.

"Well, I suppose that's true," Mom, sounding kind of sad.

"How many times has your heart been broken?"

"Once."

"And how many times have you fallen in love?"

"Two, technically, three times."

"Including Dad?"

"Or course."

"Can you describe the other two for us a little bit?" I asked.

"Well, the first one I didn't really like that much," Mom said. "I was actually thinking of breaking up with him a few times, because I didn't like the way he talked to me half the time, so I don't know why I cared so much when he did it first."

"Maybe it was because of _how_ he did it," Amber said.

"Yeah, that's probably why."

"How did he break up with you?" I asked.

Mom waved aside the question. "I don't want to talk about it. But anyway, the second time I fell in love was actually the best time of my life, no offense to your dad."

"That is, until, he broke your heart?" I asked.

"No."

"'Til you broke his heart?" Zack asked.

"No. Our relationship didn't end that way. It was actually taken away from us."

Zack and I were confused, but Pikachu and the animals seemed to know exactly what she was talking about, because they gave Mom worried and comforting looks.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I—I can't talk about it," Mom said, looking sad.

A look I recognized. I had a feeling I knew who she was talking about.

"Wait," I said. "Are you talking about that 'friend' of yours that Kika and Honey told me about?"

Mom looked surprised, then turned toward Kika and Honey. "You two told her about him?"

"We didn't tell her his name," Kika said defensively.

"Yeah," Honey agreed. "And that he was only your friend."

"Well, she doesn't seem to think that he was just my friend," Mom said.

"Was he?" I asked.

"Yes."

"But you loved him?"

"Yes. In a friendly way."

"Then why won't you tell us his name?"

"Because it hurts to say it."

"Why? Because he didn't feel the same way about you as you did for him?"

"I said that our love was taken away from us, didn't I?"

"So he was more that just your friend."

Mom gritted her teeth. "You either shut up or I'm going to electrocute you."

Her fists were burning with electricity.

I didn't believe my mom would ever hurt me. Unless I really piss her off, which I am doing right now, and, as I mentioned earlier, you don't ever want to make her mad or you're gonna regret it, so I shut up.

She tries to be a good convincing liar, but she doesn't always succeed.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "You've been doing this for the past couple years and it's just really annoying."

"It's ok," Mom said, not sounding angry anymore. "But I have a right to keep my past a secret if I want to."

"But I tell you all my secrets."

"That's because you want to, not because you have to. There are certain things that you, as my daughter should tell me, and other, less serious things that you don't necessarily need to tell me either. But I don't have to do the same with you unless I want to, ok?"

I nodded. I looked down at the floor, feeling guilty about what I just did.

Mom noticed my guilt and looked guilty herself.

"So, you don't want to fall in love?" she asked me.

I laughed a little bit and looked up at her. "It was meant to be a love song. Not the opposite of one."

"Oh, yeah, right," Zack said. "You really think that the first two verses of that song is something you would say in a love song?"

"Well, no, not exactly."

"Did you write it like 'I don't want to fall in love, but I'll make the exception for you?'" Mom asked.

We all laughed.

"Kind of. Yeah," I admitted. "But not in those exact words, of course."

"Can I hear it?" Mom asked.

"I haven't worked on the music for it yet. Besides, I told Zak that I would meet him outside after I was done here. So can I go?"

Mom nodded. "Go ahead. Are you giving him a sword lesson?"

"Maybe. But first I was thinking of showing him my Pokémon. And speaking of which, I better go get them. See you all later."

"Have fun."

"See ya," Zack said.

I waved goodbye, then I ran toward my room to get my Pokémon. Or should I say Poké balls, since that's where they really were. I keep my Poké balls in a purple bag that's as big as a handbag, but it's more like a Walkman with a strap that I can buckle around my waist, which I did.

I headed outside to go meet Zak. He was sitting on a log in our usual place when we have our lessons. When he noticed me, he smiled, and I smiled back.

"Hi," I said once I was just a couple feet from him, then I sat down next to him on the log.

"Hi," Zak said. "So how did things go with your mom? Are you grounded?"

I shook my head. "No. Our mom doesn't really blame us for doing that, and she probably would've done something similar too."

"Really?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"Wow. Your mom's a cool mom."

"Please don't say that," I said, a little too insistently.

"Why?"

"Well, our mom let's us do things that most parents would never let their kids do, and one time we told a girl about those things and that girl thought our mom was also pretty cool, and she told her mom about it, and her mom told her not to ever speak to me or Zack again."

"Why?" Zak asked.

"Because her mother thought that we were bad influences. So, one thing led to another, and the girl was mad at her mother, and she said that she wished her mom was like our mom, which, of course, made things worse. Her mom talked to our mom and told her that she was an irresponsible parent who puts her kids in danger, and a lot more happened after that. So the girl moved away and we never heard from her again."

I let that sink in for a moment. Thinking of that girl again kind if hurt.

"Wow," was all Zak said.

But, really, what do you say to something like that?

I nodded. "Yeah. After that our mom told us not to tell anyone what she lets us do or something like that could happen again. Now do you understand why I don't want you to say that our mom is cool?"

He nodded. "Yeah. But just because I think your mom's cool, doesn't mean I wish she was my mom. I love my parents, and at times they're cool themselves, but even when they're not, I still wouldn't want to trade either of them for any other parents in the world."

When I heard him say those words, I couldn't help but smile. I mean, those are probably the best things you can say in a situation like that, and Zak just came up with them so quickly. It's amazing.

He always seems to know exactly what to say and when to say it—well, sometimes—and I like that about him.

"What?" Zak asked me, noticing the way I was smiling at him.

I gave a hug.

"What?" he asked again, smiling a little bit himself.

I pulled away a little bit. "That is so sweet. You obviously really love your parents, and it's really cute."

"Umm, thanks," he said. "But I don't just love my parents. I also love my pets, my brothers, Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon."

"I can tell you do."

I gave him a kiss.

"So, Zak," I said. "I was wondering if maybe you would like to meet my Pokémon?"

"Sure," he said. "How many do you have?"

"Umm, thirteen. But I only have eleven of them with me right now. The other two are at home."

He nodded. "Ok."

I grabbed the bag from around my waist, pulled out three Poké balls, enlarged them, threw them up in the air, and out came Charizard, Plusle, and Latias.

I grabbed Zak's hand and pulled him over to meet them. Plusle jumped onto my shoulder like she always does when I let her out of her out.

"Zak, this is Plusle," I introduced. "Plusle, meet Zak."

"Hi, Plusle," he greeted her, and she greeted him back with a wave of her hand, or paw.

"She's an electric type, so she mostly uses electricity."

"Like Pikachu?"

I nodded. "Yes. And you've already met Charizard and Latias, the fire/flying and dragon/psychic type."

"They're really cool."

"Thank you."

Charizard growled at Zak, and he looked like he was about to attack him.

Uh-oh.

"Charizard, don't," I told him.

He stopped, but continued to glare at Zak.

I turned to him. "Sorry. Charizard tends to get jealous when he sees me around other boys."

"Does he have a crush on you?" Zak asked.

"Umm, yeah. You could say that."

I grabbed their Poké balls and returned them to theirs. I put them back in the bag and grabbed out the other eight, threw them in the air, and out came the eight evolved forms of Eevee.

They greeted me like dogs by jumping at me. I gestured for all of them to form a line in front of me and Zak, which they did.

"Zak, this is the rest of my Pokémon," I said. "The Eevee team."

"Cool," he said.

I pointed to each of them while telling their names and type one at a time. "This is Espeon, a psychic type; Jolteon, an electric; Vaporeon, a water; Flareon, a fire; Leafon, a grass; Glaceon, an ice; Sylveon, a fairy; and Umbreon, a dark. Guys, this is Zak."

They all greeted him the same as they did me, which I thought was cute.

"They're all very friendly," I said.

"Obviously," Zak said as he petted them, then laughed when they jumped on him.

I laughed too, then joined them.

Zak tried to stand up, but the Eevees just kept knocking him back down. Eventually he was able to stand up, but when he tried to get out of the center of their circle, all hell broke loose.

Jolten suddenly howled in pain, then used Thunderbolt, which shocked every one of us and caused a chain reaction with the other eevees, and they, too, started to use their own powers.

"Stop, guys! It was an accident." I tried telling them, but they all ignored me.

Worse thing about this: me and Zak were in the middle of it all.

Zak pulled me out of the way when Flareon used Flamethrower; then Glaceon with Ice Beam. We made it to the edge of the woods where we were least likely to be hit with any of their attacks.

"Why did Jolteon howl in pain like that?" I asked, sounding a little scared.

Zak looked worried. "I think I accidentally stepped on its tail."

"Jolteon is the only one that doesn't have a tail. You must've stepped on her paw. Either way, it was an accident. I gotta find a way to stop them from continuing to hurt each other." I thought for a moment. "Maybe I should put them back in their Poké Balls."

I moved my hand to my waist where my bag was, but it wasn't there.

"Where's my bag?" I asked.

Zak pointed over to it.

It was lying on the ground about forty feet away. Unfortunately, it was in the center of the chaos. I had to get to it.

"Stay here," I told Zak.

I started heading for it, but Zak put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. "Sarah, it's too risky."

"What other choice do we have?"

He stayed silent.

I looked him over and noticed something hanging from his belt that could be helpful. "The claw. Do you think you can slingshot it over to my bag and bring it back to us?"

"I can try," he said.

He grabbed it, aimed it, pressed the button on it, and it shot over to my bag.

The good news: the claw made it to the bag and grabbed on to it. The bad news: Jolteon's Thunderbolt hit it, climbing up the cable back toward the base.

"Drop it!" I told Zak.

I knocked it out of his hand and pushed him away just in time before the Thunderbolt got to the other end and electrocuted him.

Surprisingly, my bag didn't seem to be damaged in any way. I wish I could say the same for the claw. It burned when the electricity hit it, so all that was left of it was a pile of ash.

The look on Zak's face was priceless.

He looked about ready to cry (boy, he was way too attached to his, now burned, claw), which I would've found funny if I wasn't horrified at my Pokémon trying to kill each other.

I needed to stop them and only Mom would know how.

Zak was still staring at his burned claw.

"Pull it together, Zak," I told him. "We need to get my mom. Do you know any other way to get inside your house?"

He shook out of his daze, then nodded. "Yeah. Follow me."

He led to the other side of the house and I noticed another door. I grabbed his hand and we bolted inside.

We ran through a few hallways, but I'm not sure where my mom could be. We went down another hallway, but stopped when we noticed some animals were fighting with each other.

"Komodo?" he asked. "What kind of cryptids are those? Or are they Pokémon too?"

Komodo was having a fight with two black dogs.

I knew who they were, but I don't know why he let them out in a place they weren't familiar with and didn't keep an eye on them since they're known to be vicious with other animals.

"Pokémon," I said. "My twin brother's, to be exact. Come on. We'll save Komodo too. Komodo, turn invisible!"

He didn't seem to hear me. I'm gonna kill Zack if they kill him.

We continued down the hallway toward the living room.

Hopefully, my mom was there. And thank God, she was, and so were Zak's parents, and the animals.

"Mom, I need help," I said.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I told her about the eevees and how Zak accidentally stepped on Jolteon's paw, causing him to use Thunderbolt, shocking the other eevees and making them go berserk.

Mom nodded. "Ok."

Zack ran into the room, out of breath. "Mom, do you know where—"

"Down the hall," I interrupted, pointing in that direction.

He didn't even ask how I knew what he was going to ask. "Thanks." And down the hall he went.

"What was that about?" Mom asked me.

"On the way here, we saw Mightyena and Houndoom with Komodo," I explained. "And it did not look friendly."

Mom sighed. "Ok. You guys should train your Pokémon just a little better."

She was probably right about that.

She stood up from the couch where she was sitting. "Alright. Let's go stop your Pokémon from continuing to kill each other." She turned toward Pikachu, who was sitting on the back of the couch. "Pikachu, I'm going to need your help with this."

"Pika," she said, which probably meant "Ok."

She jumped onto Mom's shoulder.

"Where are the eevees?" Mom asked.

We led her outside to the place where they were. They were still fighting with each other.

"Pikachu," Mom said. "You know what to do."

Pikachu jumped off her shoulder and stood about ten feet from us. She used her electricity, releasing it all around her, hitting every one of the eevees.

All of them stopped their attacks and collapsed.

Well, all of them except Jolteon, since his special ability is Volt Absorb, and Leafon too, since electric types don't work well against grass, but they stopped attacking.

"Eevees, come here, please," Mom called them.

They came toward her and sat align in front of her.

"You guys are all friends," Mom told them. "And just because one of you used your power on all of you accidentally, doesn't mean you get to attack back. Now promise me that neither of you will ever cause something like this to happen again, ok?"

All the eevees, except for Jolteon, said something, then nodded.

Jolteon said something, then looked accusingly at Zak.

"I know he did," Mom told him. "But it was an accident, Jolteon."

Jolteon didn't seem to care that it was accident, so he just snorted and turned his head away.

Mom sighed, then turned toward me. "Sarah, put them back in their Poké balls, please."

Leafon went to pick up my bag and brought it to me.

I gladly took it. "Thank you, Leafeon."

I returned all of them to their Poké balls.

"Stubborn Pokémon," Mom said.

"Jolteon is known to be like that," I said.

"I know. But does he have to be that way?"

I just shrugged.

Pikachu climbed back onto Mom's shoulder.

"Thank you, Pikachu," Mom told her.

"Pika."

Mom turned back toward me and Zak. "Well, you two have fun."

"Wait, Mom," I said. "Before you go, can you fix Zak's claw for me?" I gestured to the pile of ash near the tree.

"Of course," she said.

She held out her hand and summoned the ash to her. She turned it back into the claw and handed it to Zak, who looked very relieved that he got his baby back. That's right. I called it his baby, because that's how he seems to treat it.

"Thank you, Raylee," he said. Then he hung it back on his belt.

"You're very welcome," Mom said. "I'll see you guys later."

She and Pikachu headed inside.

I turned to Zak. "Zak, I'm really sorry about the way my Pokémon were acting."

"It's ok, Sarah. You don't have to apologize. It wasn't your fault. So, your brother has Pokémon too?"

"Well, if I do, he does too."

"How many does he have?"

"Nine."

"Four less than you?"

"Yeah. I like really cute Pokémon."

"What kind of Pokémon does he have?"

"Most of them are dogs. He really likes dogs. Six dogs, three of them are special kinds of dog Pokémon, and his other three are like the first three of mine that I showed you. Minun, which is Plusle's brother. Latios, Latias' brother. And he also has his own Charizard."

"Is it related to yours?" Zak asked.

"No. They're just friends," I said

"Ok. So what do you want to do now?"

"How about we go inside?"

"Ok."

We walked inside and went toward the living room.

It's funny how the day ends so quickly, even though it feels like it just started. Outside, the sun was about to set.

When we got to the living room, everybody was just sitting around chatting with each other. I noticed Komodo and Zack sitting near the window, and I ran toward them. I looked over Komodo, but he didn't seem to be burned or injured at all.

"He's not hurt," Zack said.

"He better not be," I said. "Why did you let them out of their Poké balls? You know how they are."

"I know. I was training with them. They noticed Komodo and chased him."

Komodo bumped his head against my hand.

I was going to rub his hand when I noticed that both of my hands were glowing bright red.

My eyes widened, then I turned to my mom. "Umm, Mom?"

"Well, it's about time," she said. "Do you know what that means?"

"That my powers have activated?"

She nodded. "Yes. Do you want to try one right now?"

"Maybe one."

"Ok. Which element do you want to learn first?"

I thought about for a moment. My hands were still glowing red, so I thought of an element that is that color. "Fire."

"Alright," Mom said. "Now hold out your hand. Close your eyes and think of anything involving fire. Then imagine all of that fire in the palm of your hand."

I did as she told me and closed my eyes. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to think of fire.

I just thought of the times I've seen Zack use his fire powers, then the tip of Charizard's tail and his and Flareon's Flamethrower, and imagined it all in my hand.

When I opened my hand it was completely covered in flames, and it didn't burn my hand one bit. I flicked my hand and the fire went out.

"Cool," I said.

"The more you do it, the more easier it'll be to summon," Zack said.

I nodded. Of course it'll become easier to use my powers eventually.

"We can start tomorrow," Mom said.

"Ok," I said.

These past few days have been really great (minus the eevees trying to kill each other). First, Zak becomes my boyfriend; and second, my powers finally activated.

I couldn't wait to learn how to use them tomorrow.

* * *

 **Zak's POV**

Unfortunately, Sarah might not be able to learn her powers right away tomorrow.

My mom and dad announced that we were going to go find a cryptid tomorrow in Africa, so we decided to spend the night in the airship while it takes us there.

It was almost 11:30 pm Eastern Time and everybody was probably asleep by now.

I was lying in bed and was wide awake. I knew a new episode of Weird World was about to come on, so I had already decided a while ago that I would get up and watch it.

I woke up Komodo, who sleeps on the foot of my bed every single night, and he likes watching that show too.

"Come on, Komodo," I told him.

He got down from the bed and followed me out the door, turning himself invisible in the process.

Before heading to the control room where the TV was, I went to Sarah's room, thinking that maybe she might want to watch it with me.

When I entered the room, Sarah was sound asleep on the bed. She looks really cute even when she sleeps. I almost hated myself for waking her up.

"Sarah," I whispered in her ear. "Sarah."

She groaned a little bit before she finally opened her eyes.

She was surprised to see me, then sighed in relief. "Zak, what the hell are you doing in here? I almost sliced your head off." I noticed her sword was lying on the bed next to her and she was gripping the hilt of it.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've almost done just that," I muttered. "You sleep with your sword?"

"Hey, you never know when something might happen," she said defensively. "At least this way, I'm prepared for anything." She had a good point there. "Now why the hell did you wake me up?"

"To see if maybe you wanted to watch Weird World with me," I replied.

"Oh, ok. But why?"

"Just to see if you like it or not."

"Aren't you grounded from watching TV?"

"This wouldn't be the first time that I've broken my punishment."

"That I believe. Alright."

She pushed the covers off of herself and climbed out of bed. I took her hand and we left the room.

"Let's go check on my parents before we head to the control room," I said.

"What about Zack?" Sarah asked.

"What about him?"

"Hey, if I'm gonna watch this then he is too. You go check on your parents while I go get him and we'll meet you there, ok?"

"Ok. Try not to fall asleep."

She glared at me, then went down the hallway. I went down the other way.

I heard my parents in the back of the airship. I sneaked closer toward the entrance. Mom and Dad were having a late night combat practice. They probably wouldn't hear us watching TV.

I was about to go back when a thought occurred to me: Where's Komodo?

"You still with me, Komodo?" I whispered.

He appeared right in front of me and licked my face.

"Good boy. Get ready . . . now."

We ran toward the control room.

Sarah and Zack were already there, waiting for me, and so were Zon and Fiskerton.

"I hate you right now," Zack told me.

I just laughed. "You two really like your sleep. And Sarah was the one that wanted to wake you up, not me."

"Yeah, but since you woke her up, she woke me up, so it's really your fault."

"Alright, guys," Sarah said, stepping between us. "Let's just watch this damn show so that we all can go back to bed."

"Fine," Zack said.

I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, then I sat down on the only chair in there. Sarah sat on the armrest of it, and Zack just sat on the floor.

Fisk hung down from the ceiling.

"Hey, Fisk," I said. "Got the popcorn?"

He produced a bag of it in his hand. _Is this sufficient?_

I put my hand over his mouth. "Quiet. Dad would kill me if he knew we were up here watching this."

The episode started and I cheered. "Here we go."

A few minutes into the show, Sarah almost fell over, but I caught her.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm just really tired."

"How about you sit on my lap?"

That seemed to wake her up fully. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's ok."

She sat down on my lap carefully and nervously, then leaned against me while I wrapped an around her waist and pulled her closer.

We turned back to the TV screen.

Argost was talking about some kingdom named Kumari Kandam and how it sank into the depths of the Indian Ocean, kind of like Atlantis.

"You woke me up to watch this crap?" Sarah asked me.

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm guessing you don't like it?"

"No."

"Why?"

"It's just so . . . weird."

"That's probably why it's called Weird World," Zack said.

"Well, obviously. I just couldn't come up with a better word."

We laughed.

We watched the rest of the episode, and when it was over, I realized Sarah was asleep.

"I'll take her back to bed," I said.

"Ok," Zack said, looking really tired, then left the room.

I picked Sarah up, which wasn't easy since she was sitting on my lap, but I eventually managed and carried her to her room with Komodo following close behind.

I laid her down on her bed and pulled the covers over her.

I didn't realize how tired I was until just then. I was worried that I was going to fall asleep before I got back to my room, which would definitely prove to Mom and Dad that I snuck out to watch TV if they found me.

So I decided to stay with Sarah for the rest of the night. That shouldn't hurt, right?

I climbed onto the bed, went under the covers, and pulled Sarah close to me. Komodo laid on the foot of the bed, as always.

I fell asleep the instant my head hit the pillows.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. I love the eevees. They're so cool.**

 **Quiz Time!**

 _Based on some of the lyrics that were given, what is the name of the song that Sarah wrote, and who sings it?_

 **Please review.**


	11. The King of Kumari Kandam

**Zak's POV**

Well, I'd like to say that I had a good night sleep.

But, of course, I didn't.

I was lying on my back, looking up at the ceiling, waiting for it to be morning. Sarah was lying next to me on the bed. She was on her side, facing the wall.

I thought she was asleep, but then I heard her groan, and she turned on her other side, facing me. She opened her eyes, blinking a few times, then they widened when the noticed me.

She screamed, and backed up, falling off the bed in the process, landing on the floor with a thunk.

"Are you ok?" I asked her, looking over the side and down at her.

"Ok?" she said, sitting up from the floor. "No, I'm not ok. Zak, what the hell are you doing in here? And I don't remember coming back to my bed last night."

"You fell asleep," I said, sitting up on the bed. "So I carried you back to your room."

"Ok. But that doesn't explain why you're in my bed."

"Well, I was really tired, so I decided to stay in here the rest of the night. I'm sorry that I scared you."

Sarah sighed and sat down next to me on the bed. "That's ok. But next time, let me know that you're going to sleep in the same bed as me."

"Ok."

Sarah laid her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Zak?" Sarah said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Don't you ever wake me up to watch Weird World ever again."

I couldn't help but laugh, and leaned my head against hers. "Ok." I unwrapped my arm from around Sarah and looked at her. "So, umm, does this mean that we're a couple now?"

She leaned in close to my face with a smile on hers. "You tell me."

I smiled back, then I leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were soft and tender. The first time we kissed, I thought my head was going to explode, but luckily, it didn't.

We could've stayed that way for a while, but a growl interrupted us.

We pulled away and noticed Komodo lying at the foot of the bed, and he looked like he was glaring at us.

"Hi, Komodo," Sarah said.

He walked over to her and licked her face. She laughed and petted his head. He completely ignored me.

I looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was 6:00am.

I turned to Sarah. "We should hurry up and get dressed. We've probably already landed in Zanzibar, and my parents will be waiting for all of us."

After I said that, Sarah's eyes widened. "Oh, you're right. You should get out of here right now, because if anybody catches us in here alone, they're going to think that we—" She faltered.

"What?" I asked.

"You know."

I shook my head. "No, I don't know."

Sarah looked confused. "You really don't know?"

"No. They're going to think that we did what?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, and shook her head. "Never mind. Just go."

I got off the bed and headed toward the door.

I was about to walk out when Sarah stopped me. "Zak?"

I turned. "Yeah?"

She looked over me. "You must really love the color orange."

I just laughed and left the room.

Honestly, I had no idea what she was talking about what everybody would think if they found out we slept in the same room all night, but whatever it was, I guess it's not good.

After everybody was awake and dressed, we all left the airship—well, all except Zon, Raylee, Pikachu, Amber, Shillow, and Kimbia—and headed toward the nest of the Popobawa because Mom and Dad wanted to do some research on it.

We surrounded the nest. The Popobawa wasn't anywhere nearby, so we had to wait a while.

Dad was hiding in the tall grass north of the tree where the nest was in with his cortex disruptor; Mom to the south; and me, Fisk, Komodo, Sarah, Zack, and the cheetah cubs to the east.

I was really tired. My eyes kept closing every minute, and I fought to keep them open.

"Zero-six-thirty Zama time," Dad said in our ear pieces. "Negative sighting of Popobawa in nesting tree. Saturday one, still in position."

"Saturday two, in position," Mom said.

"Saturdays three, four, and five, and—" I yawned, interrupting my sentence.

"Rough night, sweetheart?" Mom asked me.

That woke me up a little bit. "Uh, no. Just, uh, you know. Getting my stretch on."

Sarah laughed. "Yeah. Sure you are."

I glared at her.

"Let's keep it together, Zak," Dad said. "We don't want anyone getting hurt, including the Popobawa. For now, the only one we can confirm exists."

I yawned again. "How do we know it's coming back?"

"She'll be back," Mom said. "Mamma won't leave those eggs behind."

That caught Komodo's attention, and he seemed to wake up fully. He headed for the nest.

"No," I called. "Bad komodo dragon. He's going for the eggs."

"Komodo, stop!" Sarah called to him, but he ignored her and continued toward the nest. "Komodo!" She turned to me. "Did you feed him this morning?"

I thought about it for a moment, and realized I didn't.

"No," I said sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes. "He's hungry. Come on. Let's go stop him from killing some unborn baby Popobawas."

Fiskerton was way ahead of her.

Komodo was already at the nest and was about to eat the eggs, but Fiskerton picked them up and held them out of his reach.

We heard a screeching sound. Suddenly, the Popobawa came out of no where and flew toward Fiskerton. But instead of giving the eggs to her, he just ran away with the Popobawa following him.

"Just get rid of the eggs, Fisk," I told him.

He ran by me and gave me the eggs.

The Popobawa flew at me, grabbed the eggs, knocked me into the grass in the process, and flew away. Everybody looked down at me.

"So, I'm pretty sure it exists," I said.

Sarah held out her hand to me. I grabbed it and she pulled me up.

We all headed back to the airship.

"You know what would've made that go better?" I said along the way.

"If we'd gotten a dog for a pet like a normal family?" Mom suggested.

Komodo looked hurt by that.

"No," I said. "I mean, probably. But also I was thinking I should have my own cortex disruptor."

"What?" Mom demanded.

"Well, I'm part of the team too, right? That cryptid came right at me. Isn't this really a safety issue? I need something with some kick."

Mom and Dad did not look convinced.

"Hey, I'm eleven years old now," I continued. "I think you can trust me."

"Really?" Dad asked. "This from the boy who snuck past his parents to watch Argost's show last night."

"Busted," Zack said, which I think was a little unnecessary.

My eyes widened. "You knew about that, huh?"

Just then, we heard a screech come from the airship, then a howl.

"That's Zon," I said.

"And the other one is Shillow," Sarah said.

We ran as fast as we could.

When we got back to the airship and into the control room, we noticed an emergency video call on the screen. Raylee, Pikachu, Kimbia, Amber, and Shillow were covering their ears. Probably from the alarms, or from Zon's caw, or both.

Dad answered the video call. It was Dr. Odele.

"Dr. Saturday," he said. "Oh, thank the powers."

"Odele, what happened?" Dad asked him. "Where are you?"

"On Atone in the Indian Ocean. My team was researching on atmosphere energy when they attacked. I—I hardly believe it myself, but it appears to be Kumari Kandam."

"That's impossible," Dad said, sounding surprised. "The Kumari haven't surfaced in centuries."

"Impossible?" Dr. Odele said. "Tell them."

He shifted the screen toward the ocean where the Kumari and their kingdom were shooting beams at the island. The call ended suddenly.

"Odele!" Dad said.

Mom went to the controls. "Buckle up. We're leaving now."

I sat in a chair, pressed a button on the side, and straps appeared, holding me in. Sarah and her family just decided to hold onto the railing.

"How is Kumari Kandam even still around?" I asked. "I thought it sank into the ocean after a big earthquake."

"What?" Dad asked me. "Whose been feeding you that garbage?"

"Uh, I think I heard it on TV?"

"Well, that's not really a lie," Sarah muttered.

Dad raised his eyebrow.

"Kumari Kandam was designed to travel underwater," Mom said. "Though no one knows exactly how. Kumari legend says the city moves by the magic of their gods."

"Clearly the Kumari must have tapped the primitive, but effective power source to fuel their engines," Dad said.

"Sounds pretty dangerous," I said. "Just to be safe, I should probably have a cortex disruptor."

"No," Mom said.

"We'll talk about it later," Dad said.

"And until then," Sarah added. "Zak, drop it."

Well, it was worth a shot.

* * *

After we got to the island, we noticed the Kumari attacking it. We descended, hovering about twenty feet above the beach, and Mom went to try and negotiate with them.

"Citizens of Kumari Kandam," she said. "I don't know what trouble brought you out of the deep, but I humbly offer to negotiate peace with your king."

"Tempting my dear," said a voice that I recognized.

He came into view.

"Argost," Mom said angrily.

"Thank you for the generous offer," he said. "But his Royal Highness, me, respectfully declines. Sorry."

Grappling hooks shot out from the kingdom, all of them, except for a few, landed on the airship. One landed right behind Mom, wrapping around her and pulling her toward them. She struggled to get free.

"Mom!" I said.

"Drew!" Dad said.

We all ran outside to help her.

She unsheathed her fire sword from her back and cut the cable, her landing on the ground in the process. Dad and Fiskerton helped her up.

I looked up and noticed about a hundred armored Kumari swinging on the cables and coming our way.

"Mom, Dad," I said.

We readied our weapons, and they attacked.

They outnumbered and overpowered us all. Even Sarah and her family.

They grabbed hold of Mom, Dad, Raylee, Amber, Shillow, and Kimbia. The rest of us were struggling to keep from getting caught.

"Zak, Fiskerton," Mom called. "Get to the airship and get out of here."

"Sarah, Zack, you too," Raylee said.

About ten Kumari were holding her back, even though she was forcing them away with her powers, more kept coming, eventually overpowering her.

"But, Mom," Sarah protested.

"Go," she said with pleading eyes. "We'll be fine. Believe me, I've gotten out of worse situations than this before."

Sarah and Zack looked like they didn't want to go, but they nodded and headed for the airship, followed by the cubs. I didn't want to go either, but Fiskerton picked me up and carried me to the airship.

"Come on," I complained, struggling to get out of his grasp. "We can take them, Fisk. Let me go, Fiskerton."

But by now we were already in the airship. Zon flew down to pick up Komodo and carried him into it too.

Fisk went to the controls.

"No!" I said.

I tried to stop him from leaving, but Zack held me back.

"We can't leave them behind," I said.

We ascended from the ground and flew away, leaving our parents in the hands of Argost.

"No!" I said in outrage. I tried to get at the controls. "Get away, Fisk."

He pushed me back.

"I know what Mom said, but we can save them."

I tried again for the controls, but Fisk was a lot stronger than me.

"Are you scared, or do you just not care what Argost does to them?"

Fisk was offended by that. He got up from the controls and stood a few feet away, turning his back to me.

"Zak, it'll be alright," Sarah said, trying to calm me down. "We're going to go back and save them. We just need a plan first."

I relaxed a little bit. "Ok. But how come you guys didn't use your powers or Pokémon? Aren't they suppose to do almost anything?"

"Yes," Zack agreed. "But we never fought people like the Kumari before. We did try using our powers, but they were able to defeat us."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "And our Pokémon, well, we didn't think about them."

"Ok," I said. "So, what's the plan to get our parents back?"

"We were hoping that you could think of one since you're good at doing that."

"You really think so?"

Sarah and Zack nodded.

I smiled. "Ok."

"Zak," Sarah said sternly.

I looked at her.

She nodded toward Fiskerton, who still had his back to me. I'm guessing he was still mad at me for what I had said to him. Sarah gave me a look that was clear: _Apologize_.

I walked over to him. "I'm sorry, Fisk. I just really want to get them back. Want to help me think of a better way?"

Fisk looked at me and nodded in agreement.

* * *

I had Fiskerton fly the airship behind the kingdom and leave it there. Then I had Zon fly me to the kingdom and drop us off at the base of it. Zack and Sarah rode on the cubs and landed right next to me.

"Thanks, girl," I told Zon. "Now I need you to go back up to the airship and get—"

Fiskerton held Komodo and did a cannon ball into the ocean, which made a big splash, and soaked us from head to toe.

I sighed. "So much for stealth."

"My hair," Sarah cried. "How can I dry myself?"

"Spin in a circle," Zack told her.

Sarah did a twirl and she was instantly dry. She sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Zack said.

I laughed.

At that moment, the cheetah cubs growled.

"Someone's coming," Toto said.

I was about to ask who when someone grabbed the back of my shirt, pulled me back, and pinned me against the wall. It was a Kumari, who looked to be about my age. Fiskerton tackled him and held him down.

"Unhand me," the Kumari boy said. "I am the king of Kumari Kingdom."

I looked at everybody to see if they believed him or not, because I sure didn't.

"He's not lying," Sarah said.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

She looked confused. "Umm, I'm not sure. Voices inside my head told me, and I don't think it was mine."

"It wasn't," Zack agreed. "It was your powers, and my powers told me the same thing."

"Your powers can talk to you?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes, but only through our minds. They kind of have a mind of their own and can tell us useful information sometimes, like whether someone is lying or not."

"Uh, hello down here," the Kumari guy said.

I looked at him. "Are you really the king?"

"You don't believe me?" he said. "Then argue with this."

He pulled out a necklace with a medallion on it from around his neck.

"Wow, guys," I said sarcastically. "I don't know how we're gonna argue with a necklace. Hey, you remember that glitter pen I had that made me the emperor of Venus?"

"Zak, this isn't funny," Sarah chided. "This is serious."

"You should listen to your girlfriend," the Kumari guy said. "I can help you find your parents if you're done joking like an idiot."

Sarah laughed, which made me a little mad, but I decided to listen.

"Yeah, we're good," I said.

I offered my hand to him and he took it, me helping him up. We introduced ourselves.

The guy's name was Ulraj. He took us inside the kingdom through a secret way and we were on a balcony overlooking the throne room where Argost, his sidekick Munya, and a couple of Kumari guards were.

"They arrived two weeks ago," Ulraj started. "Argost told the king, my father, that he'd come to warn us. The surface men had found our city again. It was too late. My father was wounded terribly in the assault. Argost took control. And with his knowledge of the enemy, Kumari Kandam won the day. But while our people celebrated our good fortune . . . I caught the eyes of Argost, and I knew fortune had nothing to do with it. Argost had planned all of this."

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling bad about him losing his father.

"Within days, he was preparing the city for war, already calling himself king," Ulraj said. "I would destroy him myself if I had the power, but with no plan, no weapons, no army—"

"Whoa, whoa, wait," I interrupted. "We may not have a plan or an army, but I wouldn't exactly say we have no weapons."

I had a mischievous smile on my face.

"Ooh, this can't be good," Sarah muttered.

"Brace yourselves," Zack agreed.

I turned to him. "Can you teleport us back to the airship?"

"Yes, but Sarah needs to do it instead of me."

"Why can't you do it?" she asked.

"Because Mom told me to teach you how to use your powers when she can't."

Sarah sighed. "Fine. How do you do it?"

"Close your eyes, summon your powers, and imagine us all in a certain room on the airship, and we should be there in a flash."

Sarah did as he said, and about a minute later, we were all in the control room of the airship.

"Impressive," Ulraj said.

"Oh, that's just the beginning of it," Sarah said.

I turned toward a panel on the wall and walked toward it.

"The cortex disruptors are right in here," I said, gesturing to the closed panel with the control pad to open it right next to it. "Time to do your thing, Fisk."

He shook his head in protest

"I know what Mom and Dad said, but this is an emergency. You don't just want to leave them with Argost."

He seemed to consider it, but was still objective.

"It's not like we're gonna go on a rampage. We get a stick, I zap Argost, we force him to give back our parents and Ulraj's kingdom, and bam, done, back in the box. How can Mom and Dad argue with that?"

Fiskerton agreed, and was about to smash the controls when Sarah stopped him.

"Let me do it," she said.

She stepped up to the control and held her hand above it. Her hand glowed white and the panel opened.

"Oh, yeah," I said.

I grabbed a cortex disruptor and Sarah teleported me, her, and Komodo to a spot just above the throne in the kingdom, where Argost was currently having a meeting with the Kumari, while the others stayed on the airship.

Just before we left, I gave Ulraj an earpiece to have some kind of contact with me.

"We're in position," I said. "Is Zon ready to get us out after we grab Argost?"

"Yes, Zon is ready," Ulraj replied.

"Ok. And don't let Fisk touch the buttons." I turned to Sarah. "Are you ready?"

She nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

I wasn't listening to what Argost was saying to the Kumari, but whatever he said to them, they started to cheer.

I strapped the cortex disruptor around my back, then I grabbed the claw, slingshot it at the ceiling, wrapped my arm around Sarah's waist and held her tight. We jumped down and landed just behind the throne.

Argost noticed us. I grabbed the cortex disruptor and aimed at him.

What happened next will probably haunt me for the rest of my life.

I shot at Argost, but he moved out of the way, so it ended up hitting a guard that had been running toward him from the stands, knocking off his helmet. But when I heard the guard scream, I realized that it wasn't any guard.

"Mom?" I said.

Sarah looked horrified, but not as horrified as I was.

I ran to her, dropping the cortex disruptor in the process. "Mom!"

Two more guards came up the stairs, but when they removed their helmets, I realized they were Dad and Raylee. I stopped a couple feet from them.

Mom was unconscious, or maybe dead. I didn't know, and I was terrified to find out.

"I—I'm sorry," I said heartbrokenly.

"They attack already," Argost said to the Kumari. "Strike now!"

Guards were gathering around us. Dad picked up Mom.

"We have to go," he said.

We ran through the audience. One guard tried to grab me, but I kicked him away and kept running. Raylee whistled, and Amber, Shillow, Kimbia, and Pikachu appeared in front of us.

"What happened?" Shillow asked.

"We'll tell you later," Raylee said.

They nodded and followed along.

Eventually we ran outside. We dived into the water and swam out of the kingdom. Luckily, the guards didn't follow us.

We swam a few hundred yards from the kingdom before we resurfaced. I turned to Dad, who was checking out Mom. She was still unconscious.

"Is she ok?" I asked.

"She's alive," Dad said. Then he looked at me, and he was mad. "What were you thinking, Zak? A cortex disruptor? What could've possessed you to do something so catastrophically stupid?"

That hurt.

"I was trying to rescue you," I said.

Dad's expression softened. He held out his arm to me. I went to him and he hugged me.

"We need to get your mother to the medical equipment on the airship," he said. "Do you have any way of reaching—"

About fifty feet away, the airship hovered above the water. Fiskerton, Zack, and Ulraj appeared out the side entrance. Fiskerton gave a thumbs up.

Right now, I didn't care.

* * *

After Dad gave Mom her treatment, he laid her down on one of the infirmary beds.

"She's gonna be ok," he said.

"Oh, thank God," Raylee said with relief.

"I'm very glad to hear that," Ulraj said.

"Thank you," Dad told him. "Who are you?"

"I am Ulraj, king of Kumari Kandam."

"Don't try arguing," I warned. "He's got jewelry."

Ulraj pulled out his necklace, showing the medallion.

Then the alarms went off. We ran to the control room and noticed some chaos going on outside through the monitors.

"What's happening to the city?" I asked.

"It's war," Ulraj confirmed. "Kumari Kandam is moving."

"Moving how, exactly?" Dad asked.

As if in response to his question, a giant sea serpent arose from the water with the entire kingdom on its back.

"Whoa," I said.

"I cannot allow this madness," Ulraj said. "My people need me."

"A moment, Your Highness," Dad said, stopping him. "What if that's exactly what Argost wants?" He thought about it for a moment. "Of course. He started this war to draw you into the open. He's never cared about Kumari Kandam at all. He wants her king. Or something only the king can give him." Dad gestured to Ulraj's necklace. "Your royal medallion. Where did it come from originally?"

"It is an heirloom from Kumari Kandam's trading age," Ulraj explained. "A gift from the Sumerian dynasty of Ornamal."

"Sumerians?" I said. "That means—"

"Kur," Dad finished. "Highness, you have a powerful and dangerous artifact here. Will you trust me on something?"

"If it means stopping that mad man, anything," he said.

"Fiskerton, you're coming with us."

He did a salute.

Dad turned to me. "Zak, that leaves you and the others to stop the Kumari's from reaching land."

That surprised me.

"You want me to take on a gigantic sea serpent by myself?" I asked. "That thing may be a little out of the league of my cryptid powers."

"I know," Dad said, then picked up a cortex disruptor. "You're gonna need one of these. Probably several. Bundled together and focused for some sort of—"

"Whoa. Dad, I know you're the one who wanted me to have a disruptor in the first place, but—"

"What I wanted was a way to teach you responsibility. But now the responsible thing to do is to try and make it right. It's up to us to finish the job."

I nodded and took the cortex disruptor.

"You won't be taking on the serpent by yourself," Sarah said. "We'll be helping you as well."

"She's right," Zack said. "We're in this together."

"Actually, if it's alright with you, we would like to help you instead," Amber said, gesturing to herself and Shillow.

Dad looked at Raylee.

"They'll be very helpful," she said. "I'll stay on the airship and look after Drew."

He nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

So while Dad, Ulraj, Fiskerton, Amber, and Shillow went to deal with Argost, Kimbia, and the cubs stayed on the airship with Raylee. Sarah, Zack, Zon, and I dealt with the serpent.

Sarah and Zack rode on their Charizards and I rode on Zon. I taped a few cortex disruptors together and then taped them onto a stick to make it easier to carry. I had Zon fly me close to the serpent's eyeball and grabbed the claw.

"Easy," I told it. "You don't want to hurt us."

I summoned my powers. I got control of it, but it just shook off the connection, became annoyed, and was now trying to eat me. Zon flew back.

"Dang," I muttered.

"Now what?" Sarah asked, flying right beside me.

"We shoot at it," I said.

We did that, but couldn't get a direct hit, which was surprising given how big it was. Even worse, the Kumari were shooting at us, making it even harder for us to land any hits.

The serpent seemed to be entirely focused on me, so I came up with an idea. The Kumari were directly below us.

"Zon, dive!" I said. "Down there."

She did as I commanded her and dived toward the city.

The serpent followed, running into a lot of the Kumari, knocking them aside. The serpent eventually lost interest in me and continued to head to the shore of a beach resort, freaking out all the people that were on the beach and in the water.

I was tired of wasting my time with this sea serpent. It was time to end this.

"No," I said. "I won't fail you again, Mom."

I aimed the cortex disruptors at the creature and fired.

This time it hit it directly. Sarah and Zack joined in, using their electric powers, causing more of a shock.

The serpent roared in pain, and fell into the water, completely electrified.

We won.

"Whoo! Yeah!" I cheered.

Sarah and Zack cheered along.

* * *

We all gathered in the throne room of Kumari Kandam, even Mom, who was conscious and half covered in bandages, and Ulraj took his rightful place as king.

Long story short, they faced Argost, Ulraj tried using his medallion to help when he was supposed to have left it on the airship, the power from the medallion was too much for him to control, Dad was able to stop the power, knocking the medallion out of his hand, and Argost and Munya got away with the medallion.

Dad had taken a picture of the medallion with it around Munya's neck, and was showing it to Mom.

"'Before the breath of Kur, the sentinels will fall,'" she translated from the writing on the medallion. "I like the sound of that."

"I am sorry, Doctor Saturday," Ulraj said. "I should've left the medallion in your airship."

"Don't worry, Your Highness," Dad told him. "We'll get it back to you."

"No. I do hope you get it back, but not for me. I want you to keep it safe. I think it's been proven unwise to leave so much power in the hands of one so young and inexperienced."

Mom and Dad looked at each other like they knew exactly what he was saying. Like me, for instance.

"Oh, no," I said defensively. "This is totally different. I disobeyed you, yes, and I'm very sorry about that. But I think I showed out there that, with the giant sea monster, that I'm responsible enough to handle—"

I was still holding the cortex disruptors in my hand and it accidentally went off, setting a banner next to me on fire.

I groaned and handed it to Ulraj. "Ok. Keep the thing."

Sarah laughed and grabbed one of her Poké balls, calling out her water Pokémon. "Vaporeon, use Water Gun and put out that fire, please."

She did as Sarah commanded. Then Sarah put her back in her Poké ball.

We all said goodbye to Ulraj, wished him well in his kingship, and we went back to the airship, heading home.

Today was bad at first, but I learned my lesson. Hurting my mom with something that could be deadly is a real wake-up call.

Let's hope I don't do something that terrible ever again.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter.**

 **One of you guys guessed the answer to my quiz yesterday and guessed right. The answer was:** _Heart Attack, by Demi Lovato._

 **Please review.**


	12. Learning my Powers

**Sarah's POV**

Learning how to use my powers wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. At least, not when someone like my mom is teaching me. She makes it look so easy.

I've pretty much learned all the elements within an hour and a half by just imagining them in the palms of my hands.

"Is learning how to use my powers really this easy?" I asked Mom.

We were taking a break near the woods by the Saturdays' house where we were practicing. I was sitting on a branch in a tree while Mom was leaning up against another one just a few feet away with Pikachu sitting on her head so that I could see her. I really like climbing trees.

Mom summoned a couple soda cans in her hands, one Fruit Punch, the other one Black Cherry.

"Which one do you want?" Mom asked me.

I pointed to the Black Cherry. She tossed it to me and I caught it, but almost dropped it when I realized how cold it was. Mom must've made it cold with her ice powers.

I opened the top and drank it. It tasted like actual cherries and really cold.

"So . . ." I said to Mom.

"So what?" she asked.

"Is it really this easy to learn your powers?"

"Not at first, no."

"But you make it seem so easy."

"Well, I had a really good teacher. Even though I made it hard for him for more than one reason."

"Do you still talk to him?"

"What makes you think it's a him?" she answered with a question.

"You just said so."

Mom just seemed to realize that. "Dammit."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

Pikachu looked down at her, worry on her face.

Mom opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind, closing it. She looked into the distance. "Here comes Zak."

I looked where she was looking, and sure enough, Zak was coming our way. He was wearing his usual clothes and had his weapons by his side. He looked so cute.

"Hi, Zak," Mom greeted him when he reached us.

"Hi, Raylee," he said.

"We'll leave you two alone."

Mom and Pikachu walked away and went inside the house.

"Hi, Sarah," Zak said, looking up at me in the tree.

I glared at him.

"What?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

I was mad at him for interrupting my conversation with Mom, even though it wasn't really his fault.

"Can I join you?" he asked.

"If you can get up here," I replied, taking a sip of my drink.

He grabbed the claw, and aimed it at the branch above the one I was sitting on. The claw wrapped around it, lifting Zak off the ground, and he placed his feet right on the branch I was sitting on, giving me a triumphant smile.

"Cheater," I said.

He just laughed, then retracted the claw, and sat on the branch. "What are you doing up here?"

"Well, my mom was teaching me how to use my powers for over the past hour," I said. "Then we took a break, and I decided to climb this tree."

"Why?"

"Because I like to climb trees."

"Ok. How's it going with your powers?"

"Good. I learned a lot, and I can now understand what my Pokémon are saying."

"Couldn't you do that before with your aura?"

"No. Pokémon may be animals, but they're different from them too. My aura only allowed me to understand what animals say."

"Oh."

I finished the rest of my drink and crushed the can in my hand.

"So how are things with your dad?" Zak asked.

Great. He asked the one question I so did not want to be asked.

"Umm, I don't know," I said. "I haven't really talked to him since that night, which was almost a week ago."

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"I don't know. And right now, I don't care."

Zak decided not to ask me more about it, which I'm glad he didn't.

"Umm, can you sit behind me against the trunk?" I asked him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Just do it."

I stood up and lifted myself up onto the branch above me so that he could get behind me.

I leaned against the tree while I sat down in front of him with my back to him, leaned against him and laid my head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer.

I couldn't think of anything that felt better than this.

* * *

 **Yeah, this was a really short chapter. Not even a thousand words. There isn't really much to like about it except for, maybe, just trying to figure out who this mystery man of Raylee's that taught her how to use her powers is.**

 **The next three chapters will the next three episodes because I couldn't think of anything between them. I believe they're the only chapters with that many episodes together.**

 **Please review.**


	13. Van Rook's Apprentice

**Zak's POV**

Well, I discovered something really great today, but I should start from the beginning.

My family and I, with the Hollingers, are searching for a lake monster whose horn has something to do with opening Kur's tomb.

We were in our sub, and Sarah and Zack were with us. (There wasn't enough room for their mom and the animals to join us, so they decided to wait on the shore along with Zon.)

Dad gave Komodo a bone to chew, which he liked. He really is like a dog sometimes. Fisk kept making noises with his mouth, like sonar, which was annoying everyone.

"Fiskerton, you know that's not really how sonar works," Dad said.

"Dad, pretend sonar is the only thing that keeps him from messing with the real controls," I said in his defense. "Can you just let him have that?"

He didn't really like it, but he conceded. He gave Fisk a forced smile. "Sorry I interrupted, Fiskerton. Let me know if sonar picks up anything."

Fisk gave him a salute and went back to his pretend sonar.

"Any real sonar?" Dad asked me, whispering.

I was looking over it. "Nothing. Are we sure there really is an Alkali Lake Monster?"

"There has to be. It's all over our piece of the Kur Stone." Mom pressed a button on the controls and a holographic image of the stone piece appeared. "It says the creature's horn is one of the keys to opening Kur's tomb. I only hope Argost didn't get here before—"

Sarah and Zack groaned and covered their noses.

"What is that smell?" Zack asked.

At first, I didn't smell anything. But eventually, I did, and the smell was really bad.

"Ah, Fisk," I said. "Strap on some scuba gear and take it outside next time."

He looked confused and offended by that.

"We must be close," Dad said. "The Alkali Lake Monster is known for its pungent smell."

"Yeah, I can sense it," Sarah said.

"Well, I guess it's good to be known for something," Mom said, covering her nose too.

I heard Komodo growling behind us.

"What, Komodo?" I asked. "You got something?"

I went over to him. He was looking out one of the windows of the sub. I noticed green fumes, but didn't see anything.

"How can you even see through all that green gunky—"

Something moved in front of the window, and I gasped.

It was the lake monster. He was at least five times the size of our sub. Fiskerton's pretend sonar went off like crazy and he pointed at the monster.

"Yes, I see it, Fiskerton," Dad said sarcastically. "Thank you."

It looked at us through the front window and roared, then it swam away.

We were about to follow it when Sarah and Zack yelled, "Look out!"

Too late. Something hit us and we almost capsized.

When we regained our footing, we looked outside and noticed what hit us, or should I say who.

"Van Rook," Dad said, a smile appearing on his face. "Rematch."

Yep. That's what I thought.

"Van Rook and his apprentice must be back on Argost's payroll," Mom said. "We've gotta stop them from getting that horn."

"My pleasure," Dad said.

He was at the controls with her.

We were following close behind the lake monster, but so were our enemies. They let loose a grappling hook from their sub, grabbed onto the lake monster's horn, and it snapped off. That had to hurt.

Dad sent out a robotic arm from our sub and grabbed onto their grappling hook.

"I'll wrestle you for it," he said.

"Oh, this can't be good," Sarah muttered.

She was probably right. It was literally like a tug-of-war.

The lake monster ended it by swimming between us, broke the hook that was holding the horn, and it fell to the bottom of the lake.

"I'll get the horn," Mom said. "Just keep Van Rook and that other monster off me."

I noticed Van Rook's sidekick was also getting the horn, so I decided to help Mom, and Sarah and Zack joined me. We got suited up in the back, and Mom noticed.

"And what do we think _we're_ doing?" she asked us.

"Van Rook's sidekick knows me," I said. "I can talk to him."

"Yeah, you really think he'll listen?"

"Absolutely not," Dad said, appearing on the video screen. "You haven't fought him, Zak. He's ruthless, complete without morals. I don't want you anywhere near him."

I had my helmet on, so I pretended that I didn't hear, and even gestured that I didn't, but he's not stupid.

"You have communication systems in the helmet," he said.

"Did you really think he was gonna fall for that?" Sarah said to me.

"Umm . . ." I said. "I'll be careful. Bye, Fisk."

I opened the door to get outside, and me, Mom, Sarah, and Zack went in, the door closing behind us.

We exited out of the sub and into the water. We swam to the bottom of the lake.

"You should be fine with the lake monster," Dad said through the intercom. "It doesn't seem to be interested in any of us right now."

I saw what he meant. The lake monster was just swimming in circles near the surface.

"Do you think it's gonna be alright without its horn?" I asked.

"It came off so easily," Dad said. "I suspect it's like a shark's tooth. And there's likely another horn growing up from underneath right—fascinating."

Vines were coming out of the spot where the horn use to be on the lake monster. The vines wrapped around our sub.

"Dad!" I called.

"Doc!" Mom called.

"I'll go help him," Sarah said.

She summoned Vaporeon out of her Poké ball and they swam up to go help my dad.

Just then, slimy blue sticky stuff shot at us out of no where and glued Mom to the rock right beside us by her arm. I turned and noticed Van Rook's sidekick with a kind of gun in his hand.

"Don't even think about it," he warned me and Zack.

"I never do," I said.

I tried to grab the claw, but he shot at my hand, which glued me to a rock as well.

Zack tried to use his powers, but Van Rook's sidekick was quick and shot him in the chest, landing right between me and Mom. The impact caused a lot of dust to float around.

"Oh, that's foal," Van Rook's sidekick said.

"I didn't think you had a problem working with slim," I said.

He aimed his slim gun at me. "You want a mouth full of that stuff? Keep talking."

"Go ahead, act like a bad guy. But you saved my life the last time we met. I knew you wouldn't really hurt—ow!"

He shot at my mouth, but it didn't really cover it, thanks to my helmet.

"Well, looks like you don't know anything about me," he said.

"Yeah, and you don't know anything about the horn you're looking for," I countered. "Do you even know what Argost is after? The Kur Stone? Ultimate power? Armies of cryptids in the streets? The guy wants to rule the world. Maybe even destroy it. And you're gonna help him do that?"

"I don't ask questions from the guy with the money."

"Yeah, well, maybe you should."

He picked up the horn, but Mom suddenly was free and kicked him in the chest, and he fell to the ground.

"Mom, no," I said. "I think I was getting through to him."

She and Van Rook's sidekick started fighting over who gets the horn. One of them would grab it, but the other one would just take it back, and ex cetera.

I had to get myself out of this sticky goo. I noticed the claw lying right beside me, so I grabbed it, slingshot it at a boulder in front of me, and wrapped around the top of it. I pressed the button to retract it and pulled myself free.

"Uh, a little help here," Zack called.

He was still glued against the rock. I used my sword and cut the goo from him.

"Thanks," he said.

"Don't mention it," I replied.

I sheathed my sword, then I turned toward my mom and Van Rook's sidekick, who lost his mask somehow, and noticed him take the horn out of Mom's hands and swam away with. Mom looked shell-shocked to even notice.

"Mom! Mom!" I called.

"Wha—what?" she asked, looking confused.

"Are you ok? You went all weird there for a second. And then you just let him go."

"I won't lose him again."

She swam after him toward the surface. I didn't know what she meant, and even Zack looked just as confused, but we followed her.

When we got to the surface, we found Dad in combat with Van Rook's sidekick, and Fiskerton had the horn.

Mom ran toward Dad. "Doc, stop!"

"What? Why?" he asked.

"Because . . . I think he's my brother."

That surprised all of us.

"What?" Van Rook's sidekick asked.

"Him?" Dad asked.

"Well, this just got interesting," Raylee said.

"Cool," I said.

Then we got blasted. Van Rook was shooting at us.

Fiskerton and Komodo ran across the shore out of panic. About halfway across, Fisk dropped the horn. Mom and Dad were right behind them along with Raylee and the animals, while Sarah, Zack, and I stayed where we were.

I looked at the horn on the ground. Van Rook stopped shooting for a moment, so I took the opportunity to get the horn and ran to it. Van Rook started shooting me, but stopped when I reached the horn.

I picked it up, threw it into the air, and whistled. Zon came out of no where, caught it in her mouth, and flew toward the airship.

Van Rook came onto the shore with his sub/car, a door opened on the side of it, Van Rook's sidekick entered in it with one last look at us, and the door closed behind him.

The car rolled back into the water and they were gone.

* * *

Back at home, Mom was checking through the database to see if that guy really was her brother, while I was getting Zon a fish.

Once I got it, I went to the room where everybody was and walked over to Zon, who still had the horn in her mouth. I held up the fish. She dropped the horn, I threw the fish at her, and she caught it in her mouth. Then she flew away.

I picked up the horn and handed it to Dad.

"You think my secret uncle would teach me how to use those concussion grenades?" I asked. Then a thought came to mind. "Wait. He's missed eleven birthdays. He should give me some concussion grenades."

"Ok, first, no," Mom said. "And second, I'm not a hundred percent sure he is your uncle. I mean, I always hoped . . . but, I—I don't know how it's possible."

"Drew, I know how much you miss your family," Dad said. "But if this is your brother, and he's working for Van Rook, helping Argost, are you sure you want to know that?"

"I have to know, Doc. I—I can't explain it, but when that mask came off it was like I was looking at my dad's face again."

"Aww, that's so sweet," Raylee said.

"You honestly think that's sweet?" Amber asked, sounding surprised.

"Shut up. No family's perfect. Everybody's different."

"Do you have any brothers, Raylee?" Mom asked.

"Yes," she replied, not looking like she really wanted to answer that question. "Three to be exact."

"Have any of them done anything criminal?" Zack asked.

"Two of them. But I'm not going to tell you what, so don't ask."

"You've never mentioned that you have brothers before," Sarah noted.

"I _had_ brothers," Raylee corrected. "They're all probably dead by now. And as you can probably tell, I didn't like any of them since I didn't keep any of them alive. But it's not because they were criminals."

"Then why didn't you like them?"

"No comment. But, Drew, if you believe that he's your brother, then you should find out."

Mom nodded. "Thank you, Raylee."

And with that, we left Mom by herself.

After a long while, I decided to make her some hot chocolate and Sarah and Fisk helped me. When we finished making it, we poured it into a cup and took it to Mom. When we got there, she looked kind of tired.

It was pretty late, and she's been studying for hours. Fiskerton handed her the cup, and she took it.

"Thanks, Fiskerton," she said.

She seemed a little reluctant about drinking it, and I think I knew why.

"I made it," I assured her.

That satisfied her and she took a sip of it.

"So, do I have an uncle apprentice?" I asked her.

"His name is Doyle," she said. "And I think so. They changed his last name somewhere along the line, but everything else fits."

"How come I never heard about him before now? What happened?"

"Well, it's not a happy memory, kiddo. To be honest, there's not much of a memory at all. The mind can block out a lot of things it doesn't like. We were such a happy family. We went everywhere together, saw just about the whole world. We were in the Himalayas when it happened. It was all . . . so fast. And then my parents were gone."

"That's really sad," Sarah said. "I'm so sorry, Drew."

Mom nodded in agreement. "I tried to find Doyle for years. The Tibetan Monks who took me in, the ones who gave me my fire sword, they all tried. I thought I was hopeless—"

Alarms went off, and we noticed a video call was on the screen next to us. Mom answered it, and a guy appeared on the screen.

"Doyle?" Mom asked.

"You know my name," he said. "So it's true then."

"I don't know what to believe. But everything I've seen points to—"

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but we're gonna have to play catch-up later. If you really are my sister, I could use some help. I think I got myself into trouble."

He ran from the screen and we noticed shots in the background, and the screen turned fuzzy.

* * *

We all gathered together and Mom told them what happened while she was preparing to go help her long-lost brother. But Dad didn't like it.

"He wants you to meet him?" he said. "And he chose the location? In the middle of the night?"

"He said he was in trouble," Mom said.

"And that doesn't make you suspicious?"

"Of course it does. I've set traps less obvious than that, but I need to know for myself."

"I'm coming with you."

"Me too," I said.

Fisk also chimed in.

"No, no," Mom said. "If it's a trap, we'd all be walking into it."

"Doyle's family, right?" I said. "So shouldn't we trust him?"

Raylee snorted. "Oh, if only you've met the families I've dealt with. And that includes my own. Not this one. Family is overrated, and honestly, doesn't mean much anymore."

"It's not that simple, Zak," Dad said. "Whether he's your uncle or not, he's still Van Rook's apprentice. But I do trust your mother."

She put her hand on his chest.

He grabbed it and placed a video phone in it. "Take this video phone. If you suspect anything, don't try to be a hero."

Mom smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "When have I ever done anything rash or irresponsible?"

"I keep a list. It's alphabetized. Do you want me to start with the Algerian Sea Centipede, or the Zara Australian Pit of Darkness?"

Raylee laughed. "Even though I have no idea what those things are, you have got to tell me about them and what Drew did."

Mom smiled. "I'll be back soon."

She gave me a kiss on the forehead and the same with Fiskerton. Then she left.

I didn't want her to go by herself. I grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her gently with me into another room, then I ran for the airship, pulling her harder behind me.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"To help my mom," I replied.

She sighed. "Why did I even ask, since you obviously get your stubbornness from your mom."

I laughed. "Come on."

"Fine. But if anybody asks, you took me hostage."

"Deal."

We got into the airship and headed to the supply closet.

I was about to close the door when Sarah said, "Komodo's coming."

Sure enough he appeared, getting halfway through the door before I tried to push him out.

"Stay with Dad, Komodo," I told him.

But he forced himself in.

"Alright, you can come," I conceded. "Just keep it quiet, ok?"

I tried closing the door again, but someone stopped it.

"Now Fiskerton," Sarah said.

I looked out, and saw that it was Fiskerton.

He wagged his index finger at me, clearly telling me I shouldn't do this.

"You can tattle, or you can come along," I told him.

He pondered that for a moment, then came into the closet. I closed the door, and not a second later did I hear a knocking sound on it.

"And that's Zon," Sarah said.

I sighed and let her in.

I closed the door again and turned to Sarah. "Any one else coming?"

In response to my question, I heard the door open behind me.

"Yes," Zack said, entering the closet, and closed the door behind him.

"Anyone else?" I asked them, getting very annoyed.

They both shook their head, trying to hide their smiles. "No."

"Good."

It was way too cramped in that closet, but I was able to move toward Sarah who was in the corner. I sat down next to her. She moved over to me and sat down on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.

A few minutes later, I felt the airship take flight. After a while, Fisk turned to me, looking uneasy, and I knew why.

"There will be no potty breaks," I told him.

He didn't bother me anymore for the rest of the flight.

I felt the airship land not too long later. We decided to wait a couple minutes before coming out of the closet, but we only waited half that long.

"We should probably get out of here right now," Sarah said insistently.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I'm sensing something's wrong."

"Yeah, I can sense it too," Zack said.

I didn't ask anymore questions. I got up and we all left the closet.

We went to the control room first, but Mom wasn't there. I looked outside and saw her with Doyle, but they weren't alone. Argost was there, and he had them tied up in blood sucking vines. I think they were called blackflies.

We ran outside. I jumped onto Zon, her flying me toward him, Fisk running right behind us, and I kicked Argost away, knocking him to the ground. Fisk went to deal with him while I jumped off of Zon, landing right in front of Mom and Doyle.

"I told you to stay home," she said to me. "What are you doing here?"

"Backup?" I suggested.

Komodo came over and cut the vines from around Mom with his claws. She picked up her fire sword, which was lying on the ground next to her.

"And?" Doyle asked.

Mom turned to him, holding her sword at him. "If you knew _anything_ about this . . ."

"Does it look like it?" The vines were closing around his throat.

"Mom," I said.

She finally cut the vines from around him.

Argost stood up from the ground, then he opened up his cape and a lot of bugs came out of it. Everyone was quick. Zon flew up, I grabbed her foot, then Mom's hand, and we flew up onto the bridge above us. Everyone else either climbed or flew.

Argost followed us up there as well.

"Now, children," he said. "Didn't mother warn you? You play with fire, you get fire cracker beetles."

He opened his cape again and more bugs came out of it. Once they got near us, they did start cracking like fire crackers. It hurt and all the smoke coming from them made us cough. I climbed onto Zon's back and she went airborne.

Fiskerton was able to get over to Argost and was now, I guess, wrestling with him.

"Get me in there, Zon," I said.

Unfortunately, before she was able to do that, more fire cracker beetles came out of Argost's cape and came at us. Zon flew away from them.

I noticed a blue burst of light, probably my mom's fire sword, and it destroyed half of the beetles when it came in contact with them, along with the bridge. But the beetles were still following me and Zon.

We weren't paying attention to where we were flying, and by the time we realized it, the bridge was collapsed. Zon made a tight turn just in time before the rocks landed on us, and we fell to the ground.

The beetles still came at us. They were about to reach us when all of a sudden, I felt something jump in front of us, and the beetles disappeared.

Komodo became visible, and that's when I realized that he ate them when he licked his lips. I could see the beetles buzzing in his stomach.

"I don't know if I should be impressed or disgusted," I said.

I'll say both.

I focused back on the situation and looked for my mom. She, Sarah, Zack, and Doyle were fighting Argost, but it wasn't going so well. He somehow managed to knock them all to the ground.

Zon took flight, grabbed onto the back of my shirt with her talons, and we flew toward Argost.

"Leave my family alone!" I said.

He didn't have time to notice us before Zon tackled him and carried him into the sky. We were flying a little too high.

"Zon, down!" I told her, but she wasn't listening. "No. Down!"

She kept on flying.

I heard something behind us, and I noticed Doyle flying next to us on his jet pack. He grabbed Argost and dropped him to the ground. But before he hit the ground, he expanded his cape and landed safely.

We flew down to where Mom and the others were and landed.

"So, believe me now?" Doyle asked Mom.

In response, he got a kick in the chest from her.

"Mom!" I said to her, completely surprised by what she just did.

"This was all just a diversion?" she asked Doyle. "Just part of the job? You lied to me. You put my whole family in danger."

Doyle didn't seem to have any idea what she was talking about, and neither did I.

"Mom, what ever you think happened—" I tried, but Mom interrupted.

"In the airship, Zak," she said. "Now."

"B-But—"

"Now!"

I decided not to argue anymore.

Sarah grabbed my arm and pulled me gently toward the airship, along with every one else. As soon as we got in, I turned toward Sarah and Zack.

"What happened?" I asked them.

"Your mom got a video call from your dad, and he said that this was a setup so that they could get the horn," Sarah said.

"And you don't really believe that, do you?"

Sarah and Zack exchanged looks.

"We believe it was a setup," Zack said.

"But we don't believe that Doyle was apart of it," Sarah finished.

"Argost made it look like he was, though."

"And my mom believes it," I said.

At that moment, Mom appeared, looking really hurt. She sat down at the controls and we took off, no one saying anything along the way.

Once we got home, we noticed Van Rook and Munya fighting Dad, Raylee, and the animals, who were completely covered in webs. Raylee was a little beat up and panting hard, but Dad looked even worse.

Van Rook had the horn in his hands, and Munya decided to throw Dad over the cliff to the ocean below.

I sent Zon outside. She caught him in her talons and carried him back up. Van Rook and Munya left in their own warship and got away.

"You know, darling," Mom said to Dad through the intercom. "I really think you've got this rescue concept backwards."

He managed a smile.

We all gathered in the living room, enjoying some Chinese food while Mom was working on Dad's injuries.

"I hope you don't mind I ordered take out," Dad said to Mom. "I know it's my night to cook, but—"

"You don't have to avoid the subject," Mom interrupted. "You can say 'I told you so.' Argost has the Alkali horn. He's even closer to finding Kur now, and it's my fault for trusting—"

"I'm sorry your brother wasn't who you thought he was."

Mom gave him a comforted smile.

Just then, Doyle appeared right in front of the window, flying on his jetpack. I went over to it, opened it, and let him inside.

"Uncle Doyle," I said.

Fiskerton and Komodo growled at him.

"Zak," Dad called, wincing. "Get over here."

"But, Dad—"

"I thought I was pretty clear with you," Mom told Doyle.

He held up his helmet. "See this helmet? Van Rook gave it to me. Never mentioned this feature." He pulled out a small communicator from it. "He's been bugging all my communications. That's how Argost knew that I'd be with you and that Doc would be here alone."

Mom shook her head. "Oh, please. You came all the way here to try that lame excuse?"

"You know what? Forget it."

He tossed aside his helmet, and was about to leave out the open window, but I stopped him.

"Come on, Doyle," I said.

"Zak, get away from him," Mom said.

"Give him another chance. We've all made mistakes, but we have to forgive each other. That's part of being a family."

"I didn't come here to make excuses," Doyle said. "I came here because I thought you might want to know why Argost was after me in the first place."

He had a satchel with him. He opened it and dropped whatever was inside it on to the floor. I almost couldn't believe my eyes.

"Wait. Is that—" I started.

"Another piece of the Kur Stone?" Mom finished. She looked at Doyle. "You took this from Argost?"

"I decided to do some research on the guy who was paying me," he replied. "Turns out he's got a few ideas I'm not so big on."

I picked up the stone piece. "Hey, Dad, didn't you guys need, like, fifty Secret Scientists to break into Weird World last time?"

He groaned. "You know, there were two pieces we didn't have."

"Things got . . . hectic," Doyle said.

"He got one piece," Raylee said. "You gotta give him credit for that."

"I can't believe you beat Argost," I said to Doyle.

"I _escaped_ Argost," he corrected. "But I'll take that for now."

"Dad always had a flare for the dramatic, too," Mom said. She gave him a hug. "It's—it's good to have you back."

He hugged her back.

"Aww, that's so cute," Raylee said. "I always imagine something like that happening between Sarah and Zack if they ever got separated from each other for so long, but with more emotion."

Sarah and Zack exchanged looks, then shrugged. "Maybe."

Sarah wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Can't—breathe," he said.

"Oh, sorry," Sarah said, unwrapping her arms from around him.

Zack smirked. "I was kidding."

She slapped his arm. They shared a laugh.

"So, if you're looking for help stopping Argost, I'm available," Doyle said. "For a reasonable hourly rate. I'm kind of out of a job."

"You expect us to pay you?" Dad asked.

"And I need a place to crash."

"What?"

"You can stay in my room," I offered. "Come on. I'll show you where to put your stuff."

I grabbed his hand and led him to my room.

So I got a new uncle today, and he was so cool. I really hope he stays with us for a long time.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. The end of the next one is going to be good.**

 **Please review.**


	14. Twelve Hundred Degrees Fahrenheit

**Zak's POV**

It's been a couple days now since Uncle Doyle came to live with us, but not everyone was happy about that as I am.

Right now, I'm heading to Sarah's room. We haven't hung out as much since Doyle's been here. When I got to her room, she was sitting on her bed with a laptop in front of her.

"Hey, Sarah," I said.

"Oh, hey, Zak," she said, closing her laptop.

I sat down on the bed in front of her.

"So, isn't it cool that I have an uncle?" I asked.

"Uh, I guess," she said, not sounding happy about it.

"Do you have any uncles?"

"One . . . Well, I guess I just learned that I have three more whom I probably will never meet, much less even know their names. But the one uncle I do know is my dad's brother, Rick. He's a cool guy."

"Like Doyle?"

"Uh, sure."

"What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I just don't like him."

"Why?"

"Do I really have to tell you why? I mean, I'm not the only one who doesn't like him."

"True. But I still want to know why you don't."

Sarah sighed. "Well, he's rude sometimes, reckless, careless, and have you noticed the way he looks and acts toward my mom? She's married to my dad, for God's sake. Doesn't he know better than to hit on a married woman?"

"I guess not," I said. "But that's how he is."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, come on. Dr. Cheechoo called. He needs our help with something."

"Ok," Sarah said.

She grabbed her sword and together we headed to the airship.

We were on our way to Osorno in South America.

Along the way, we all gathered in the back of the airship, and Doyle was telling us a story about him fighting a guy named Baron Finster, whose lower half was a robotic scorpion, and how he got away from him by riding a prehistoric bird.

While riding it, Finster's men had appeared, driving helicopters to stop him from getting away.

"And?" I asked. "Come on. Don't leave us hanging, Doyle."

"You know, it get's a little messy after that," he said. "Let's just say the bird and I took care of 'em."

I thought the story was cool, and so did Fiskerton, but Dad didn't think so. He groaned with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Problem?" Doyle asked him.

"An Ngani-Vatu?" he said. "You just mounted up and rode a giant Vegeain man-eating bird?"

"If you don't want to listen, don't listen," Doyle said.

"Excellent idea."

Dad opened the emergency exit door, then grabbed Doyle and threw him outside.

"Dad!" I said.

"Doc!" Mom said.

"What?" he asked innocently. "He has a jetpack."

I had a feeling he was still gonna do that whether he had a jetpack or not.

The Hollingers were laughing. Apparently they found it funny.

"Oh, I would've done so much worse than just throw him outside," Raylee said.

"What would you have done?" I asked her.

She had a mischievous smile on her face. "You don't want to know."

"You really don't," Amber said.

Judging by the way they said that, they're probably right: I don't wanna know.

After Doyle got back on the airship, we continued our trip to Osorno. A little while later, we arrived there. The place was covered in snow.

We landed the airship and got suited up. I waited to suit up Komodo at the bottom of the ramp with him at the top.

"Come on," I told him. "Dr. Cheechoo's waiting."

He came down and looked around.

"I've got a Komodo-size parka for you," I said.

But he, instead, took his parka out of my hand with his mouth, ripped it up, and went back up the ramp into the airship. He's cold-blooded, after all. I rolled my eyes. We left him and Zon in the airship while the rest of us went to see Dr. Cheechoo.

Dad was still bothered by the story Doyle told us.

"Let me get this straight," he said to him. "You caught up with the crate _after_ you reached terminal velocity? Was this before or after the laws of physics stopped working?"

"Hey, any time you wanna see my terminal velocity, just ask," Doyle replied.

"What? That doesn't make any—even your threats have bad science."

He just stared at him, reaching behind his back where his grenades were, which made Dad mad.

"Oh, are we escalating?" he asked, summoning his power glove.

"Ok, boys," Mom said, getting between them. "It was just a story. Let's not turn this into some pointless macho contest."

"Your mom has bad science," Doyle said to Dad.

"My what?" he asked.

That made him even more mad.

"Doc." Mom held him back while me and Fiskerton held Doyle back.

"Whoa, hey, Doyle," I said.

"Doc, whoa, come on," Mom said. "He's my brother. My _little_ brother. You're gonna beat up a kid?"

"Kid?" Doyle asked, sounding offended.

"You, not helping."

"I don't know, Mom. He's kinda right," I said. "Didn't he beat the pants off Dad the first time they fought?"

Fisk nodded in agreement and even acted out pulling the pants down.

Sarah glared at us. "Yeah, and I almost killed him with my sword."

I remembered that. I still thought that it was pretty cool.

"Uh, no offense, Doyle, but we've been doing this a lot longer," Mom told him. "You probably don't wanna escalate."

"Uh, to be honest, I don't call you Saturdays in because I need the help," we heard a voice say, and noticed Dr. Cheechoo standing with his team about twenty feet away from us. "I just can't resist the entertainment value."

"Neither can I," Raylee agreed with a laugh.

"Welcome to Osorno."

After we greeted Dr. Cheechoo and his team, he told us what he needed our help with.

"We've been picking up diversion seismic activity for a week now," he said. "But that's not why I asked you to come."

"Was it to snowboard?" I asked. "'Cause it would be really cool if we could snowboard."

"Nice try, Zak. Three days ago, this started."

He stood in front of some kind of computer. He pressed a button on it, and a kind of growling sound started playing.

"At first we thought it was just a pressure vent releasing steam," Dr. Cheechoo explained.

"No, there's something abnormal about it," Mom said.

"It sounds like an animal," Sarah said.

"It could be some kind of sonar," Dad agreed. "Do we know any subterranean cryptids that use echo location?"

"I'll check the C.P.," Mom said.

"I knew I called the right Secret Scientists," Dr. Cheechoo said.

I was looking out into the distance when Doyle came over to me.

"So we're holding a stethoscope up to a volcano to see if it has indigestion," he asked me. "Is it always this exciting?"

"Yeah, usually," I replied. "Until something attacks us or explodes."

To prove my point, the volcano in front of us erupted, lava flowing down it.

"Whoa," I said. "So it's exploding this time."

I noticed some people were snowboarding down the volcano, trying to get away from the lava.

"Mom, Dad, the slopes," I said.

"Fiskerton and I can clear the camp," Dad said.

"Doyle, just jump in whenever you—" Mom started, but didn't get to finish because Doyle took off using his jetpack to go save those people. "Ok."

She ran off to go save someone else from the lava.

"Well, I guess that's my cue," Raylee said. "You guys stay here."

And she, with the animals following, went off to help.

While they were doing that, Sarah, Zack, and I worked on any injuries that the people they saved might've had. I was keeping track of how many each of them saved, and Doyle won.

"You should've seen him, Mom," I told her after she just finished saving someone else. "Doyle rescued, like, six people already."

"Turns out I'm pretty good at the good guy thing too," he said. "Not bad for a little brother, huh?"

"We're saving lives, boys," she said. "It's not a contest."

We heard someone scream. Lava was gathering under the elevators you ride up a mountain, and there were some people on them.

Mom and Doyle looked at each other with determination on their faces. They ran to go help.

"Now it's a contest," Raylee said.

Mom ran to a tree, grabbed her fire sword, cut a part of the tree bark, and made a kind of sled. She jumped on it, and went to go save those people.

I had to admit, that was cool. "Go, Mom."

Doyle strapped his jetpack onto his feet and used it as a sled. That was cool, too.

"Aren't you going to help?" Zack asked his mom.

"Normally I would," she said. "But I love seeing a brother and sister compete. Even though you shouldn't make saving people a competition. I'll be watching closely if someone gets close to being touched by the lava and neither of them are able to save that person."

We continued watching my mom and uncle.

A little while later, we all gathered in a log cabin, including Dr. Cheechoo and his team—except for Mom—and Doyle was telling us all a story around a table.

"So, I don't know if this guy was in the hot tub when the thing blew or what, but I'm not kidding," he said. "Skis, goggles, bikini briefs. I mean, I almost left him just on principle."

We all started laughing, even the Hollingers seemed to find it funny.

Mom walked into the cabin, carrying a faun.

"Mom, you've gotta hear Doyle's story," I told her.

"I saved a deer," she said. "A baby deer. Anyone wanna hear that story?"

"Aww, how cute," Sarah said.

She got up from her chair and walked over to it. She petted it and the deer licked her face.

She laughed. "I'll take it from here, Drew."

Mom gave her the faun, and then, for some reason, Sarah unsheathed her sword and pointed it across the table.

"Don't even think about it," she said.

I noticed that Kimbia was at the other end, his eyes just peering over the table in a stalking manner, and so were the other cheetahs and Shillow.

"But we're hungry," Kimbia complained, sitting back in defeat.

"I don't care," Sarah said. "You're not gonna eat this deer. It just survived death from an erupting volcano and now it's going to survive seven carnivores if I have anything to say about it. It's been through enough in one day."

The animals groaned.

"Come on, guys," Raylee told them. "I'll get you something to eat."

She left the cabin and the animals followed her.

Sarah put the deer on the floor. "It's ok. You're safe now."

It licked her face again.

We all laughed.

Mom walked up to Doyle, planting her hands on the table in front of him. "How many?"

"Fifteen," he replied. "You?"

"Fifteen. Without the deer."

"I think there's a man still up there," one of Dr. Cheechoo's team members said. "Near the blast cone."

I grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked out the window.

"I don't think that's a man," I said.

"Yeah, because if it was, he'd probably already be dead by now," Zack said.

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know," I said. "But it's definitely not a man."

The thing standing at the top of the volcano looked like some kind of lava lizard standing on its hind legs like a man.

"I thought you guys checked the C.P.," I said to my parents.

"This isn't in it," Mom said.

We felt the ground shake and more lava started pouring out of the volcano.

"If we don't do something now, this whole town is going up in flames," Dr. Cheechoo said. "I've got drilling equipment. Let my team tackle the lava flow."

"We get the lava lizard?" Mom asked.

"Well, that's what you guys do, isn't it?" Sarah said.

We headed to the airship and did some research on the lava lizard, Raylee and the animals rejoining us.

"This is gonna be a problem," Dad said. "The creature's skin is super heated. Incendiary."

"Yeah, see, I would've guessed that when it came out of a volcano," Doyle said.

"He's got a point there," Raylee said, but I can tell she hated to admit it.

Dad glared at her.

"How's the fire-proofing on the extreme temperature suits?" Mom asked Dad.

"I designed them myself," he said.

"Better safe than sorry, though, huh?" Doyle said. "Look, I've got freeze tech that'll handle this long distance." He opened the side door to the outside. "Hey, you wanna tag team, mini-man?"

I knew he was talking to me.

"If you think you can keep up," I said.

I grabbed my helmet, put it on, and whistled. I jumped out the door. Zon flew out from under me and I landed on the little platform she carries under her.

Doyle flew beside us with his jetpack and handed me a little water hose. I strapped it on to my wrist and we went to find the lava lizard.

We found it walking between houses. Doyle flew in front of is and sprayed water on it from his hose.

"Time to chill out, Hot Head," I said.

The second splash of water caused ice to form around it, and now it looked like an ice sculpture.

"I think we can put this mission on ice," Doyle said.

"Or looks like that guy's an absolute zero," I said,

"Nice." He gave me a thumbs up.

My mom, who was wearing one of those temperature suits, Sarah, Zack, and Fiskerton were standing next to him.

"No offense, but you guys are idiots," Sarah said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because fire melts through ice," Zack replied.

To prove his point, the ice around the lava lizard was steaming and it broke apart. The lava lizard tried to hit Doyle with its fist, but he dodged it. Mom kicked it, and it backed away a little bit.

A news helicopter was flying above us, and I noticed a guy with a camera looking out the side of it. Mom was distracted by it that she didn't notice the lava lizard coming toward her. It hit her with her tail and knocked her into a car.

Doyle hit it with his grenades, but it didn't seem to have that much effect. I had Zon fly me close to it, the claw in my hand, and I activated my powers, but I couldn't control it.

"I can't get a connection with my cryptid powers," I said. "Its emotions are all over the place."

"I know," Sarah agreed.

I noticed Raylee, Pikachu, the animals, Fiskerton, and Dad, who was also wearing a suit, helping Mom up.

"Drew, what's the situation?" Dad asked her.

"The situation is handled," she said, then gestured over to a fire hydrant about ten feet away from them. "Just knock off that hydrant for me."

He summoned his power glove, walked over to it, and knocked off the top of it, hitting the lava lizard directly with water.

"Everybody away from the water," Mom said.

We all backed away from it. Mom looked at Raylee, who seemed to understand.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt," she said.

Pikachu did as she was told and used her electricity on the water and electrocuted the lava lizard. It roared in pain, then collapsed.

Fiskerton checked it out, being very cautious. It opened its eyes, which scared him, and he ran up a pole. Scardy gorilla-cat.

I tried my powers again and had Zon fly me close to the lava lizard.

"Wait," I said. "I felt something there."

I was so distracted by that that I didn't realize how close Zon was flying by it until it hit us with its tail and knocked us out of the air. Zon went one way while I went another way, right into a clock store.

I heard a woman's voice. I looked up and noticed a TV in front of me and it was on, showing a newscast. A woman was speaking in a language I didn't understand.

The scene moved over to the lava lizard being thrown against a brick wall, and when it showed who'd done it, I almost couldn't believe it. It was Argost and his sidekick, Munya.

I quickly stood up and ran outside.

"Guys," I called. "I think Argost is—"

I stopped when I got outside and noticed Munya wrestling with the lava lizard and Argost standing just a few feet away.

He walked over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Smile for the cameras, little Saturday. Let them know what a big fan you are."

I groaned.

"Zak," Dad called.

"Get your hands off of him," I heard my mom said.

Doyle came down from the sky, grabbed me, and flew away.

"Sixteen," he said.

"That doesn't count," I heard Mom say.

Everybody moved behind a building, and Doyle and I joined them.

"Argost wouldn't risk this unless there's a connection to Kur," Dad said. "This creature must be one of the keys to Kur's tomb."

"Have you seen anything on our piece of the stone of volcanoes, giant reptile-men?" I asked.

"No. Maybe on the piece Doyle recovered. Whatever it is, we have to shut that creature back in its volcanic hole now. Zak, I want you in a temp suit. This is about to get serious."

He opened up a case he was carrying and handed me a suit.

"That's fine," I said. "But, before we go there, can you get me one minute alone with this thing?"

He nodded. I put on the suit.

We attacked Argost and Munya, but the town's people didn't like that and started throwing trash at us.

"Hey, ow," Doyle complained. "We're the good guys. Vas Buenos, guys."

"But, dear boy, I'm a celebrity," Argost said.

"Yeah, well, so am I," Raylee said. "But they've either never heard of me, or have, but don't care."

"Aren't you like that to celebrities sometimes?" Zack asked.

"Yes. But not just to celebrities."

I focused on the lava lizard, who was throwing trash all over the place. I grabbed the claw and activated my powers.

"Come on, lizard guy," I said. "You don't have to do this."

It screamed in pain and covered its ears, backing into a lamp post, knocking it down.

"Ah, the smallest Saturday once again shows his so-called . . . power," Argost said. I had a feeling he was going to say something other than _power_. "But know this, boy. When I find Kur, its power will crush yours like a field mouse in the paw of a Bengal tiger."

He lunged at me. I used the claw and slingshot myself onto the roof of a nearby building.

I tried my powers again. This time I kind of got a connection to the lava lizard and I learned why it was really here through its thoughts.

"Whoa, wait," I said. "It's not trying to hurt anybody. It's—"

I felt the building shook. I looked down and saw the lava lizard ramming itself into the building then to the one across the street and back. It kept doing it until both of the buildings crumbled to nothing but rubble.

I slingshot myself off the building just in time. I landed on the ground and my family and friends gathered around me. Argost and Munya, unfortunately (or should I say fortunately?), were under the rubble.

The lava lizard let out a roar, then shed its skin, which is the reason why it was here in the first place.

"So, this is what you do for a living," Doyle said.

Everyone ignored him.

"We still need to get it back home," Dad said. "That debris won't hold Argost for long."

"I think I can lead it back now that it's calm," I said. "But it's gonna take all my concentration just to keep the connection going."

"Maybe Doyle could just ride it back."

"Yeah, Uncle Doyle," Mom said, which sounded like sarcasm, but I wasn't sure. "Just like in your story."

"Ok," Doyle said.

Sarah went over to the lava lizard and placed her hand on its head gently. "Hey, it's ok. You'll be safe home soon."

The lava lizard licked her check, but its touch didn't seem to hurt her in any way.

"How come its skin isn't burning you?" I asked her.

"Fire doesn't hurt me, thanks to my powers," she said. "But it will hurt you."

"Yeah, kind of figured that since it did come out of a volcano after all," Doyle said.

Sarah glared at me, then at me.

"What?" I asked.

She just rolled her eyes.

Doyle had Dad strip off his suit, which he didn't like, and he laid it on the lava lizard's back so that it wouldn't burn him while we rode it back to its home. I rode in front.

 _I want to come_ , Fiskerton said.

"Sorry, Fisk," I told him. "Only room for two."

He was sad by that.

Doyle patted the lava lizard's side. It understand and ran off toward the volcano with us riding on its back. About five minutes later, we reached the top of the volcano.

The lava lizard jumped into it before giving us the chance to get off. But, luckily, Doyle had his jetpack. He grabbed me, we flew up, and went into the airship, hovering above the volcano, where everybody was waiting for us.

Mom and Dad looked frantic.

"We have to find Argost," Mom said. "The key he's after isn't the creature itself, it's in the creatures nest."

I looked down at the volcano and saw a figure running toward the mouth of it.

"Mom!" I said.

Everybody noticed the figure too.

We all knew that it was Argost and he was wearing the lava lizard's shredded skin, then he jumped into the volcano.

"Lava-proof lizard skin," I said. "Man, I wish I'd thought of that first."

"What's the temperature rating on these suits?" Mom asked Dad.

"Well, I've tested it to one-thousand-degrees Fahrenheit," he replied. "But it'll probably hold to—" His eyes widened. "Wait. You're not—"

She put her helmet on and jumped out of the airship.

"Mom!"

"Drew! No!"

She was inside the volcano.

We all ran to the control room. Dad pressed a few buttons on the controls to get some kind of connection to Mom.

"Drew. Drew! Can you hear me?" he asked over the intercom.

"I'm fine," she replied back.

Dad sighed in relief.

"It's like swimming through a—through a giant milkshake."

"Drew, look," Doyle said. "If you're trying to prove something to me—"

"Well, somebody's full of himself," she interrupted.

"Drew, how about I come in there and help you?" Raylee suggested. "Because I'm pretty sure I can move around more easily than you can without overheating."

"Thanks, Raylee, but I can handle this on my own. I—hold—hold on. Temp increasing. Suit—suit is holding. I—" She faltered.

"Dad?" I asked.

"I'm still getting a reading from the suit," he said.

"Then she's alright?" Doyle asked.

"For now."

I didn't like that.

"Well, either way, I'm going in there to help her," Raylee said. She gestured to the extra suits hanging on the wall. "Do you mind if I borrow one?"

"No. Go ahead," Dad said.

She went over to the rack, grabbed a suit, and put it on.

"Are you sure our powers won't protect us from being hurt by lava?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Raylee said. "Our powers make us one-hundred-percent fireproof. Even in volcanoes."

"Are you sure?" Zack asked.

"Yes. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time I've been in a volcano."

"It isn't?"

"No. And don't ask, because it's a long story."

They didn't seem too surprised by that.

"See you guys later."

She ran out toward the open door and jumped out of it.

"Ok," Sarah said, then turned to the rest of us. "Now what?"

In response to her question, Dr. Cheechoo suddenly appeared on the video screen.

"Doc, we've slowed the lava down, but we just don't have the man power to stop it," he said.

"Try to hold the line as long as you can, Paul," Dad said. "I'll see what I can—"

The airship suddenly shook.

We looked at the outside camera and noticed someone familiar with a grappling hook on our airship, pulling it toward him.

"Munya," Dad said. "We don't have time for this."

"Just take care of the lava," I told him. "Doyle and I can get this one."

"What about us?" Sarah asked me.

"You and Zack can help."

She glared at me. She seems to be doing that to me a lot lately. "Let's just go."

The four of us went to go deal with Munya.

When we got outside, we jumped onto the ground next to Munya and I sprayed him with water from the hose I still had attached to my wrist.

"And that was just the first hose," Doyle said, then sprayed him with his hose.

Ice formed around Munya, but he was able to break out of it. He was mad.

"Should we run?" Zack asked.

I nodded. "Yes."

We made a run for it and Munya charged at us. Doyle was following from above with his jetpack.

We ran to the edge of a cliff. Munya spit his webs at us. I deflected each one with the claw and Sarah and Zack used their swords. Doyle attacked him, distracting him from us. They kept dodging each other's hits.

I looked down the cliff behind me, and about halfway down, I noticed my dad and Fiskerton trying to push a gigantic snowball down the rest of the cliff where lava was running through the chasm.

"Dad, what are you trying to do?" I asked him.

"Create an avalanche," he replied. "One disaster cancels another. Why?"

An avalanche . . .

That gave me an idea.

I turned back to Doyle, who was still fighting Munya. I waved to get his attention. He noticed. I did a gesture down the cliff and he nodded, understanding, and so did Sarah and Zack.

I had to get Munya's attention, so I tried an insult.

"You know, every spider I know shoots webs out of its butt," I said, cupping my hands around my mouth to make my voice louder. "What does that say about your face?"

That seemed to work, because he turned on me and lunged.

I sprayed water on the ground in front of him, then Doyle sprayed where I did, which caused the snow to turn to ice. Once Munya stepped on it, he was losing his balance, trying to keep it, sliding over toward us.

We moved out of the way, and once he got near us, Sarah and Zack knocked him off his feet, and he fell over the edge. I turned back to Doyle, but then I felt something hit my back and the next thing I knew, I was being pulled down the cliff.

"Zak!" Sarah called.

I realized that Munya somehow was able to shoot his web at me and was dragging me down with him.

Munya hit the giant snowball that Dad and Fiskerton made, and the impact was enough to cause it to fall down the hill. Fiskerton grabbed the claw, which I was still holding, when I passed him and he pulled me next to him so that I wouldn't fall with Munya.

Fisk, Dad, and I watched as the snowball hit a huge pile of snow, causing an avalanche, which was enough to cover and stop the lava completely, just like Dad said it would.

"And that takes care of the spider and the fry," I said. Then I realized that Doyle wasn't in sight. "Ah, come on. Why wasn't Doyle around to hear that one?"

We all gathered in town around a few houses.

Mom and Raylee were launched out of the volcano after it erupted again, and Doyle caught them just in time before they could hit the ground and break a leg.

He claimed to win his contest with Mom, but she disagrees.

"We were about to land just fine," she complained.

"It counts," Doyle said.

"Nice save, Doyle," I told him.

"Whoa, wait," Mom said. "'Nice save, Doyle?' I just rescued lava hatchlings and swam a volcano. That counts for nothing?"

"I would be a little offended by that if I really cared about this and was apart of it," Raylee said. "But I'm not, so carry on."

"Come on," Doyle said to me, ignoring Mom. "I'll tell you how I did it."

Mom tried to attack him, but Dad, surprisingly, held her back. He said something to her, but we were too far away by now to hear exactly what he said.

"And I saved a deer, young man," Mom called out to Doyle, who still was ignoring her, and continued to tell us what happened.

"Speaking of that deer," Sarah said, sounding worried.

She ran to the cabin that she left the deer in to check on it.

* * *

We all were in the cabin that we were in earlier, talking around a table, saying goodbye to Dr. Cheechoo and his team.

"You guys ready to go home?" Mom asked us.

Before any of us could answer, Sarah barged into the room, looking really mad.

"Where's the baby deer?" she asked, looking accusingly at the animals, half of them cowering under the table. "Well?"

"You can probably guess what happened to it," Amber said sheepishly, hiding behind Raylee.

"You guys ate it?!"

"We couldn't help ourselves," Kimbia said defensively.

Sarah sighed heavily. "I can't believe you guys did that. That was so mean. Don't you have any self-control?"

"Sometimes," they said.

"Well, it's hard to believe you have any at all," Sarah said. "I'm going to have to punish you guys for that. Let's see . . . set your tails on fire? Put you in a tank full of great white sharks? Or, how about I—"

She was interrupted when she heard someone giggling. She turned around and noticed a little girl standing by the door into the next room.

She looked to be about four or five years old, with golden-brown hair like Sarah's, but a little darker, that barely touched her shoulders. Black eyes like mine, but more sparkling.

She was wearing a pink long-sleeve shirt and pants, the shirt having an "S" in the center of it, with white tennis shoes.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Sarah asked the little girl. "I'm being very serious."

The little girl just giggled again. She had a cute laugh and an irresistible smile.

"Where's your mommy and daddy, sweetie?" Sarah asked her.

She smiled up at Sarah, showing her perfect teeth, then she smiled at me. The little girl turned around and disappeared into the next room.

"Wait!" Sarah ran after her, but stopped when she was halfway through the door, looking around the room for a moment, then turned back to the rest of us. "She's gone."

"Who's gone?" Zack asked.

Sarah and I looked at him.

"You didn't see her?" Sarah asked him.

"See who, Sarah?" Raylee asked.

"That little girl. She was standing right here. Then she just . . . disappeared. None of you saw her?"

Everybody shook their heads, except for me.

"I saw her," I said.

"You did?" Sarah asked, hope in her eyes.

I nodded.

"But, then, how come nobody else did?"

"Maybe you're hallucinating?" Doyle suggested.

"And Zak, too?" Sarah said. "I don't think so."

"Maybe Zak didn't see what you saw and just said he did so that you wouldn't look like an idiot," Zack suggested.

I glared at him.

"Did you, Zak?" Sarah asked me.

I turned toward her. "No! I saw her, just like you did."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sarah. I swear I saw her."

Sarah seemed to be debating whether or not I was telling the truth. "My powers say you aren't lying. But I want you to prove it."

"How?" I asked.

"Describe her."

So I did, and that seemed to satisfy her.

"How come the rest of you guys didn't see her?" she asked everybody.

"I don't know, Sarah," Raylee said. "But you and Zak aren't lying, so I believe you."

"So do I," Zack said.

But my family looked uncertain. I looked at Sarah, she looked at me, and I could tell we were both wondering the same thing:

Who was that little girl?

* * *

 **So, who do you guys think she is, and why are Sarah and Zak the only ones that can see her? I, of course, already know. Can you guess? There will be a lot of hints throughout the rest of the story about who she is. All I'm going to tell you is that she's important.**

 **Please review.**


	15. The Owlman Feeds at Midnight

**Zak's POV**

An Owlman, huh? Well, it's something different.

All of us were gathered in the living room in our house. Mom and Dad were looking at a holographic image of the two pieces of the Kur Stone that we had.

"The ridge crosses the line where our Kur Stone piece joins the one Doyle took from Argost," Dad said. "But Drew says it isn't Sumaric writing. I guess that—"

"Interrupting," Doyle said. "Uh, mini-man, gorilla-cat, you wanted to see this?"

He was working on some kind of machine to make it some sort of microwave. He had a popcorn bag with him, placed it on the machine, and pressed a button on the side. A laser beam shot out of the machine, hitting the popcorn bag, and instantly made fresh popped popcorn in just two seconds.

"Cool," I said.

"Is that my microwave field generator?" Dad asked.

"I juiced it," Doyle replied. "You were losing twenty percent to a magnetron inefficiency. Don't worry. I'll show you where your mistake was."

"But . . . it's mine."

Doyle opened the bag and sat down on the coach between me and Fiskerton, which annoyed Sarah, who was laying her head against my shoulder. (She still didn't like him.)

"So are you two a couple or what?" Doyle asked us.

Sarah and I both blushed, but didn't answer. I just nodded my head. Doyle didn't ask us anymore questions, but he had an odd smile on his face.

Mom turned the focus back on the current situation.

"The ridge looked geographical, so we found a match," she said, then a map of Europe appeared on a screen behind her. "This coast line in southern England, the village of Mawnan."

"Fascinating," Doyle said sarcastically.

"No, Doyle, this is big," I said. "If it's on the stone, it's something that'll help open Kur's tomb. If Argost hasn't figured this out yet, we can finally get one up on him." I stood up from the couch. "Come on. Why are we still here?"

"Wait. Business first," Doyle said.

"Excuse me?" Dad asked.

"I can help, but I can't give you anymore freebees."

"Ok. And what exactly would we be paying you for?" Mom asked.

"Uh, consulting services," he replied. "I made your microwave zapper twenty percent better, I can do the same for your mission."

Fiskerton seemed convinced by that, but Mom and Dad weren't.

"And, hey, the more I get paid, the sooner I can afford my own place, right?" Doyle said.

Mom and Dad were going to think about it. Meanwhile, we all got into our airship and headed to Mawnan, England.

We all were walking down a street. Fiskerton waved to every person we passed, but they all disregarded us. We walked past one alley and there were a couple kids, a boy and girl, hanging out in it. When they saw us, they looked scared.

"Charles, more creatures," I heard the girl say to the boy after we passed them.

I realized that she was referring to our pets.

"More?" I asked.

They ran deeper into the alley.

"Hey, wait up!" I called after them.

I ran after them, and Sarah and Zack followed me.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's ok," I assured them after we caught up to them. "They wouldn't hurt you. They're part of my family."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "They wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Unless they're told to," Zack said.

Sarah and I glared at him.

"Please, it's not safe after dark," the boy, whom I assumed was Charles, said. "Come on, Lily."

"Why?" I asked them. "What happens after dark?"

"Don't, Lily," Charles said to her. "It's not any of his—"

"It—it took our mom," Lily interrupted, tears streaming down her face.

"Aw, I'm sorry," Sarah told them.

"What exactly is it?" I asked.

"We have to go," Charles said. "It's not safe here, especially for strangers."

They started walking away.

"Wait!" Sarah called after them. "Can you at least tell us what took your mom?"

"The Owlman," Lily said.

Then she and her brother ran down the alley.

"The Owlman?" Zack asked.

"Uh, let's get back to our parents," I suggested.

Sarah and Zack nodded in agreement.

When we got out of the alley, we looked down the street where we last saw them and noticed Doyle holding a man upside down by his leg with one hand and a grenade in his other.

"Oh, great," Sarah muttered. "What the hell is he doing?"

It's amazing what can happen after only being gone a couple minutes. We ran toward them. My family was trying to get Doyle to let the man go.

"He feeds at midnight," the man said.

Doyle finally let him go and the man ran down the street.

The people that were walking by all around us saw what happened, including a police officer, and they didn't look happy about it. But why would they? We were strangers here, after all.

"So what do you think he was talking about?" Doyle asked.

"Maybe if you didn't do that to him, he would've told us what the hell he was talking about," Raylee said.

I think I knew.

"They call it the Owlman," I said. "Those two kids told us. It took their mom and a lot of other people too."

I felt bad for them. Mom placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and so did Sarah.

"You, stay where you are," that police officer said, coming over to us from across the street. He had a baton in his hand and was gesturing toward Doyle.

"I apologize for my brother, Constable," Mom said. "He's very bad with people."

"Never mind that. I want you out of my parish. Now!"

"Sir, if we could talk to someone—"

"The elderly gentleman mentioned something about a creature," Dad said.

"No!" the constable said. "Night is falling and I insist you leave."

Doyle grabbed the constable's baton and hat, which, of course, made things worse.

"Doyle!" Mom said.

She and Dad grabbed him and tried to pulled him back. The constable pulled out his whistle, but Doyle grabbed that too.

"Insist this," he said.

And he did, too, by putting us all in a jail—well, all except Komodo, who turned invisible at the last moment and got away—and taking away all of our weapons. He put us in a cell that was big enough for us all to fit in. Barely.

Mom and Dad weren't happy, of course, and glared at Doyle.

"He was running us out of town," he said defensively. "Look, now we've got front row seats for whatever feeds at midnight. It's called improvising."

Fiskerton clapped at the accomplishment, and I was pretty sure he wasn't doing it in a mocking way.

"I probably would've come up with a plan that didn't give my eleven-year-old son a criminal record," Dad said angrily.

"Yeah, in England. Do you know how many countries have a bounty on my—" He stopped when he noticed Mom glaring at him. "We'll save those stories for later."

Dad groaned.

We sat down on the benches in the cell and waited until it was midnight.

"I'm guessing this is going to put a mark on your reputation?" Sarah asked her mom.

"Not really," Raylee replied. "I mean, I have a criminal record in the U.S. as well."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Ironic for the Protector of America who stops all kinds of crime, small or large, huh?"

"What'd you do?" Zack asked.

"Kind of a lot. I've assaulted a couple police officers myself, and some other things I don't want to say."

"Why did you assault a couple police officers?" Sarah asked. "Don't you know better than to do that?"

"Yes," Raylee replied. "But you know how I get when people piss me off. Those women thought that just because they were police officers, they get to be all tough and bossy, especially to me. So I taught them a lesson: Don't mess with me, or you're going to get it."

"And that, and all those other crimes you did, didn't ruin your reputation?"

"No. Well, actually, yes, it did. The president at that time wanted me to stop being the Protector of America because of all those crimes I did, and that I'm being a little hypocritical for it, but he couldn't stop me even if he tried so he had no choice but to let me continue. Of course, the American people hate me more for other reasons and would probably prefer me to be a criminal rather than someone who speaks out against a lot of things that most of them probably do. But, hey, nobody's perfect. That's one of the reasons why people think I'm a bad influence."

"Like Doyle?" Zack asked, which caused him to get a glare from him.

"Shut up," Raylee said, glaring at him as well. "Like I said, nobody's perfect. Everybody's different."

"Ok," Sarah said. She used her powers to summon a guitar to her hands. "Do you guys mind if I play while we wait?"

Everyone shook their heads.

She started playing a tune, which sounded really good.

"How about you sing us a song?" Raylee suggested.

"Yeah," Zack agreed.

"No," Sarah replied a little harshly, and continued playing.

She did start to sing, but no sound came out.

"You do that when you're listing to your playlist," Zack said to Raylee.

"Yeah, so what?" she asked.

Sarah continued to play, but stopped when she looked outside the cell. "It's that girl again."

I looked where she was looking and I saw the little girl that we saw in Osorno the other day, standing just a few feet away from our cell.

"How did she get here?" I asked.

Sarah shook her head. "I don't know." She turned toward everyone else. "Can you guys see her this time?"

They all shook their heads.

You know, it is very frustrating when you can see someone or something that no one else can see and not think that you're crazy. Thankfully, Sarah could see her too.

The little girl looked exactly the same since the last time we saw her. Same clothes and all. She was smiling at us, showing her perfect white teeth.

After the first time we saw her, Sarah and I talked awhile about why we were the only ones that could see her and why we both felt so drawn to her, but came up with no logical explanation.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked the little girl.

She just shrugged.

"You don't know your own name?"

She shook her head, gestured to herself, then held up one of her cute tiny fingers.

Ok . . . I was completely confused.

"What?" I asked her.

"I think she's saying that she doesn't know her first name," Sarah guessed. "Am I right?"

The little girl smiled and nodded. I was impressed.

"How did you know that?" I asked Sarah.

She shrugged. "It just seemed that obvious to me."

"Ok." I turned back to the little girl. "So you don't know your first name. Do you know your last?"

She nodded.

Even Sarah found that confusing. "How do you not know your first name, but you know your last?"

The little girl just shrugged.

"Can you talk or do you just choose not to?" I asked.

She held up two fingers to me.

"I think that means the second thing you said," Sarah guessed. "That she doesn't want to talk, right?"

The little girl nodded.

"How can you always tell what she means?" I asked.

"I have a baby sister, Zak," Sarah replied. "And she can't speak yet, but I always seem to know what she wants and/or needs."

"That's true," Raylee agreed.

"Ok," I said, then turned back to the little girl. "So what's your last name?"

She just smiled at me, but in a different way this time, though I can't really explain how. I looked at Sarah and she seemed just as stumped as I was.

"What does that smile mean?" I asked her.

"I would say that's either a 'You already know what my last name is,' or a 'That's for me to know and you to find out,' smile," she replied, then turned to the little girl. "Which one is it?"

She held up one finger, then two.

"Both?" I asked.

She nodded. Then shrugged and held up two fingers.

"But probably the second one more?" Sarah asked.

She nodded.

"Ok, I'm confused," I said.

"Yeah, so am I," Sarah agreed. "How about we forget the last name and move on to a different subject?"

I nodded in agreement.

"Do you know why me and Zak can see you but no one else can?" Sarah asked the little girl.

She shook her head.

"Ok. Do you know why you're here?"

She shook her head again.

"Do you know anything?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Besides your last name."

I was expecting her to shake her head again, but she nodded.

"Ok. Like what?"

She gestured to herself, then held up five fingers.

"She knows that she's five years old," Sarah said.

"Yeah, I got that," I said. I turned back to the little girl. "Do you know anything useful, like, who your parents are?"

She nodded.

"Who and where are they?"

She had that smile on her face again.

"God, I don't know why, but that smile's a little creepy," Sarah said.

I nodded in agreement. The little girl giggled, which I had to admit, was the cutest sound I've ever heard. Why do I feel so drawn to her when I don't even know her?

The little girl gestured to Sarah's guitar, then an impression of playing it. Sarah understood.

"You want me to play?" she asked.

She nodded, then gestured to her mouth and pointed at Sarah.

She shook her head. "No. I'm not going to sing."

The little girl looked at her with pleading eyes.

Sarah turned away from her. "Don't look in the eyes."

She started playing her guitar again. The little girl seemed to really like the tune that she was playing, because she started giggling and clapping. She was a real cutie.

After a little while, she waved goodbye to us, then ran out of sight.

"Wait!" I called.

Sarah and I ran to the bars of the cell, looking around the room, but couldn't see her anywhere.

"How does she disappear like that?" Sarah asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

"It's weird seeing you two talk to someone that none of us can see," Zack said.

We ignored him.

A second later, we heard a growling sound outside the cell and I recognized it.

"Komodo, there you are," I said. "Did you find anything?"

He became visible.

"What's going—"

As if in response to my question, we heard a scream that came from outside the cell window.

"What did I tell ya?" Doyle said.

"Fiskerton?" Dad asked.

He backed up against the cell bars, then charged into the brick wall across from it, breaking it down. We all ran outside and into the street, each of us going different ways.

Sarah and I went down one street and noticed someone, whom I assumed was the Owlman, pounding on the door of someone's house.

"Over here!" I called to everyone.

The Owlman noticed me and ran down the street. We all ran after it.

At the end of the street, we noticed a church and the Owlman went inside it. We stopped in front of the church.

"Stand-and-flank maneuver," Dad said. "Doyle, Komodo, and Fiskerton, take the rear. Zak, Sarah, and Zack, stay here and cover the front. Drew, Raylee, and I will tight the noose until we have it trapped."

They entered the church with the animals following behind, and leaving us to stand guard.

"Better idea," Doyle said.

"I'm listening," I said.

He told us his plan, and I liked it.

Sarah and Zack didn't want to be a part of it in any way, so they stayed where my dad told them to stay and Komodo stayed with them.

Doyle and Fiskerton got the trap set in the clock tower that was apart of the church while I went to lure the Owlman out of hiding.

I ran through the chapel where the pews and altar were to get its attention, though that's where my parents were, and, of course, they noticed me.

"Zak?" Dad called.

I kept running.

The Owlman came out, hiding on a pedestal posing as a statue, and started chasing me. I ran up the stairs to the clock tower and the Owlman followed.

When I got to the top, I stopped near the window and waited for the Owlman to step on the trap. It finally did after a moment.

"Now!" I said.

Doyle and Fiskerton pulled the rope at its feet, jumping down from a ledge above, and it tied around its ankle. They kicked it hard enough to knock it out the window.

I moved out of the way just in time. The Owlman was hanging a few feet from the ground by its foot.

I gave Doyle and Fiskerton a high-five. We heard footsteps behind us, and I knew instantly that it was my parents.

"What was that, Doyle?" Dad asked.

"Beats me," he replied, clearly misunderstanding the question. "You're the brainiac on cryptids."

"Not the cryptid. That stunt you just pulled."

"That's what Zak and I call improvising. We'll give you a full recap. I like my clients to get my moneys worth."

"Oh, I'm gonna give my moneys worth."

"Doc," Mom said.

I wasn't paying that much attention to them. I was looking out the window at the Owlman and noticed something odd.

"Whoa," I said. "Guys, uh, you gotta see this."

Everyone looked out the window and saw what I was seeing.

The Owlman looked like it was shedding its skin. But it turns out that the Owlman was just a man wearing a costume. He fell to the ground, still with his mask on.

We all went down to the front of the church and gathered around the guy, including Sarah, Zack, and their family.

Doyle lifted the guy up into a sitting position and took his mask off. It was the old guy I saw my family talking to earlier.

"That's your Owlman?" Doyle asked.

"More like Foul man," I said.

"Nice." He gave me a high-five.

"The Owlman feeds at midnight," the old man said in a trance. "The Owlman feeds at midnight."

"A hoax," Dad said. "I led us all the way out here to chase some cheap hoax."

"We must've misread the Kur Stone," Mom said. "Maybe the ridge wasn't a geographic feature. I—I don't know where we went wrong."

We heard footsteps behind us coming our way and noticed the constable coming toward us. He noticed the trap and the guy.

"Ian, what have you done?" he asked the guy. "He's always been a bit eccentric, but . . ."

"Now what about the missing persons?" Mom asked him. "We'd be happy to help you—"

"No, no, no. He wouldn't have hurt anyone. It's just a sick prank for him. I beg you, we've had enough embarrassment. Please, just leave."

"Yes, of course," Dad said. "No reason for us to stay now, is there?"

"Uh, hey, this might not be the best time, but I still get paid, right?" Doyle asked.

We all glared at him.

We got all of our weapons back, and were now heading toward the airship.

"Ok, I have to ask," Sarah said. "Did none of you guys see that that guy was possessed?"

My family and I were confused.

"Uh, are you sure he was possessed?" I asked.

"Yes."

"With my powers, I can tell when someone is possessed," Raylee said. "And that guy was possessed."

"Well, whether he was possessed or not, we can't do anything about it," Dad said.

The conversation ended there.

We got to the airship, and we took off. Sarah and I went to the back where Zon was to check on her.

"Sorry, girl," I said, rubbing her head. "You must've been so worried about us, with the storm coming on too, huh? Poor Zon."

She cooed.

We were flying through some storm clouds and it was raining. I was sitting in a chair next to the window, and Sarah was sitting across from me.

I looked out the window. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and I could've sworn I saw something on the wing of the airship.

"Huh?" I asked.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked me.

"I think I see something outside."

Another streak of lightning and I was looking into red eyes.

"What the—"

The window suddenly broke and a strong wind started to suck us out. Sarah and I were holding onto the seats for dear life. The wind was blowing stronger.

My hands started to slip and I knew I was done for. The wind pulled me outside, causing me to let go of the seat, and I went airborne.

"Zak!" Sarah called. She sounded so far away that I could barely hear her.

I was somehow able to grab the wing of the airship, but my fingers slipped and I started sliding back.

Something appeared next to me and I grabbed onto it, but when I looked up, I realized that the thing I grabbed was the foot of a bird. To be more exact, the foot of the Owlman. And this time, I'm positive that it was real.

Its whole body was covered in black feathers. It had wings, and its face look like, well, an owl's, but with red eyes, kind of like a vampire's. It picked me up with its claws.

Then something hit it from behind and it let go of me. But now I was falling to my death.

"I'm coming!" I heard Doyle say.

He flew toward me and caught me.

"I don't think that's a guy in a rubber suit," I told him. Then I noticed the Owlman coming right at us. "Look out!"

It flew into us and knocked us apart. I was falling, once again, to my death.

The airship moved below me and a small part of the roof opened up. Before I could fall into it, I noticed Doyle wrestling with the Owlman, and decided to help him.

I grabbed the claw hanging from my belt, slingshot it onto Doyle's jetpack, and pulled myself over to him.

"Whoa, whoa," he said. "What are you—"

"Tag team," I said.

He gave me a high-five.

The Owlman came at us. Doyle flew down toward the airship and it followed us. Doyle did a spin, and I held out the claw. The Owlman came close and I whacked it in the face with the claw. It tumbled down the airship.

"Nice," Doyle said.

We heard a bird call and I knew immediately that it was Zon. We saw her flying toward us. She had that carrying device under her, and Sarah was on her back.

"You grab the Owlman," I told Doyle. "I've got my own ride now."

I jumped off his back and grabbed onto the carrying device, hoisting myself up.

"You ok?" Sarah asked me.

"I will be once we deal with this creature," I replied.

I noticed the Owlman was flying toward us. Doyle flew into it, and he and it fell toward the ground, disappearing out of sight.

"Doyle!" I called.

But he was gone.

We got back inside the airship, and after telling everyone what happened, Mom and Dad landed the airship where Doyle fell.

We all exited out onto what looked like a barren desert. I looked around, but saw no sign of him.

"Are you sure this is where they fell?" I asked my parents.

"Based on their trajectory when we lost sight of them," Mom said.

We heard a sound and miniature owlmen appeared all around us, closing in. There was about thirty of them. We were surrounded.

"The eyes," I said.

They were glowing red. I grabbed the claw and activated my powers.

"Come on," I said to them. "Power versus power."

I couldn't feel any kind of connection to them, which usually meant only one thing.

"Nothing?" I said. "They're not cryptids. Mom, Dad, it's just more guys in suits."

"Uh, Zak?" Sarah said.

"What?"

She pointed to both of our parents. They were unconscious and being dragged away by these fake owlmen.

"Mom! Dad! No!"

Our pets were also unconscious and being dragged away too. The only ones who were still here was me, Sarah, and Zack.

"They don't sleep," one of the fake owlmen said. "The Owlman would want them for himself."

"What?" Zack asked.

I didn't give them a chance to respond.

I extended the claw and used it to launch myself over them. Unfortunately, when I did that, I ended up landing in a pile of mud that was like quicksand.

"Ok," I said. "First one who helps me out is the last one whose butt I—"

The sand rose up to my mouth and I lost consciousness.

* * *

I woke up in some kind of chamber, half covered in mud.

Sarah and Zack were sitting on either side of me, and the fake owlmen were standing around us.

"He's awake," one of them said. "Good. The Owlman likes his prey weakling."

I stood up, ready to fight them off, and so were Sarah and Zack.

Then one of them walked over to us. "Let me, um, you know, clean him up first." I recognized the voice to be Doyle's. "No one like's a dirty Zak-erfice. Hoot."

He directed me and the twins a few feet away from them, out of earshot.

"Ok, don't freak out," Doyle said. "But I think they want the big bird to eat you guys."

"What?!" I asked.

"Shh. Relax. I'm just getting you up to speed. Now, from what I can tell, the guys in the rubber suits are some kind of Owlman cult. They serve that thing that attacked the airship. And because you guys are so special, they think he might like to, you know, pick his beck with your bones."

I shrieked.

"That's . . . disturbing," Sarah said.

Zack nodded in agreement.

Then a thought occurred to me.

"Wait," I said. "How'd you get the suit?"

"I—" he started.

"Improvised?"

The guys in the suits looked suspiciously at us.

"Just shining the head," Doyle told them, ruffling my hair. "Hoot."

They looked away and went back to whatever it was they were doing.

Doyle pulled something out from behind his back. I got a glimpse of it and I knew what it was.

"The claw," I said.

I hadn't realized I'd lost it until now. I tried to grab it, but Doyle held it back.

"Sorry," he said. "I can't let them see you with it yet. It would ruin the plan."

"You have a plan?" I asked.

"What? You think I make everything up as I go along?"

"Well, that's what you've pretty much been doing these past couples days," Zack said.

"That is what improvising means, after all," Sarah agreed.

He told us his plan.

"Fine," Sarah said. "But for the record, I can pretend to be one of them way better than you can."

"Oh, really?" Doyle asked.

"Yes."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Oh, you bet it is"

I stopped them before they could continue. "Guys, this isn't the time."

"You're right," Sarah agreed. "So what do we do now?"

"We wait to do the plan."

The guys in the suits took us outside and walked us up a cliff. Doyle placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Remember the timing," he told me. "Trust me. I'll be there."

I nodded and he walked off. The rest of us walked to the edge of the cliff. I looked down and saw a big chasm with fog in it, so I, of course, couldn't see the bottom of it.

"Zak!" I heard my mom calling.

We turned and saw our family running toward us.

"Mom! Dad!" I called to them.

But most of the guys in the suits were stopping them from reaching us.

"Time to improvise," I said.

"That's never good," Sarah muttered.

She was probably right.

A couple of the guys in suits were guarding us, and I kicked them both in the chest. We made a run for it toward our family.

A few of the fake owlmen came at us, and grabbed us by our arms. We struggled to get free, but couldn't. They carried us toward the edge of the cliff and threw us into the chasm.

After falling for a few seconds, something came out of no where and grabbed us. I knew immediately that it was the Owlman. It had us in its talons and soared upward. We were now overlooking the cliff were everybody was.

My improvising didn't work, and it messed up the plan.

"Sorry, Doyle," I said.

Then the Owlman flew away from them, taking us with him.

I noticed Doyle flying after us with his jetpack, no longer wearing that rubber suit. The Owlman tried to out maneuver him, but couldn't. It flew into a cave just below the cliff and Doyle followed. It made so many turns that I was surprised Doyle was able to keep up.

It flew down one tunnel and I couldn't see Doyle anymore. Looks like he was able to lose him after all. For now.

The Owlman brought us into some kind of cavern and stopped over a big nest. It dropped us into it one at a time, starting with me (of course). I hit the side of it before finally landing on the bottom. And it hurt. It hurt even more when Zack landed on top of me. Then Sarah.

"Huh, that didn't hurt so much," she said.

"Speak for yourself," Zack muttered. "Zak and I practically broke your fall."

"Yeah, and I broke yours," I said, being squished against the ground. "Now will you both please get off me?"

"I would if Sarah would get off me first."

"Oh, sorry," she said.

She got off of us. Zack got off of me. Then he and Sarah helped me up.

"Thanks," I said.

I looked around and realized that the nest was made up of bones. Human bones. I noticed a skull near my foot.

"I'd ask if you knew a way out," I told it. "But I guess that's a pretty obvious no."

"You think?" Zack said.

I ignored him. "I guess we should start climbing."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed.

We grabbed onto parts of the nest that weren't bones and began to climb.

After we were halfway up, we heard someone's voice. "Heads up."

It was Doyle. I looked up and noticed the claw falling toward me. I grabbed it out of the air and we continued climbing.

When we finally got to the top, we noticed Doyle about ten feet in front of us, stuck behind a thorny outcrop. We ran toward him.

"Nice timing," I told him sarcastically.

"So now you care about timing?" he replied. "What happened up there? I told you I had it all planned."

"Yeah, but I improvised."

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you did."

"Now you get how we feel when you do that," Zack said.

"Come on. There's gotta be—"

"Watch out!" Sarah said.

She pulled me back just as the Owlman appeared between us and Doyle. It turned toward him and cut away the thorns with its claws, then it advanced on him.

I slingshot the claw around its claw and held it back, then activated my powers.

"Back away, Feather Brain," I said.

I still couldn't get a connection to it. Doyle tackled the Owlman with his jetpack on, which caused it to knock into me and the three of us went airborne.

"Doyle, jump off," I told him.

"What?" he asked. "I'm not leaving you alone with—"

I swung myself around and kicked him with both feet and he fell to the ground while I landed on my feet.

The Owlman fell in its nest. I slingshot the claw at the nest, it grabbed on to a side that had a lot of bones on it, I pulled back, and dumped it all on top of the Owlman. The claw retracted itself and everyone stood beside me.

"Do you ever listen to anybody?" I asked Doyle.

"Come on," he said, ignoring my question.

"Obviously not," Sarah said.

We ran down a tunnel, hoping that it would lead us the right way to get out of here. After a while, we noticed something in the distance that seemed to have red glowing eyes. We stopped.

"It's ok," Sarah assured us. "It's Fiskerton."

The creature came into sight, and we saw that it was in fact Fiskerton. He seemed happy to see us and gave us each a hug.

Our parents appeared behind right behind him, and the animals too.

"Mom! Dad!" I said.

Mom embraced me with a hug, like she always does.

"Uh, what happened to Komodo?" Sarah asked.

I looked down at him and noticed that his eyes were red.

"Hoot," he said, which was weird.

"Yeah, don't ask," Mom said. "Let's just go."

"Wait," Dad said. "We came here to find a key to open Kur's tomb. I thought we'd fallen for a hoax, but if the Owlman is real . . ."

"I didn't see anything in his nest," I said. "But if it means getting ahead of Argost, we should go for it."

"What do you have in mind, mini-man?" Doyle asked me.

"Actually, I already have a plan," Dad said. "If anyone's interested in that sort of thing."

"You know me. Always a team player."

Dad groaned and glared at him.

He told us the plan. Everybody got ready while I went to get the Owlman's attention.

"Here birdy, birdy," I called. "Polly want a Zak-er?"

The Owlman appeared in front of me, screeching.

"Sorry, Polly."

I ran away from it and it followed me. Good.

I ran past Mom, who was hiding behind something, then she came out and started taking pictures of the Owlman with her camera, the flash going off and blinding it.

Then Dad continued with the glow from his power glove; Sarah, Zack, and Raylee used their powers to cause quite a bright light; Doyle with a glowing stick; and Fiskerton also with a camera.

The Owlman screeched in pain.

"It's not enough light," Doyle said.

"No," Dad disagreed. "He's weakening. Keep pouring it on. Stick with the plan."

"Sure thing."

The Owlman knocked the glowing stick out of Doyle's hand. He grabbed his jetpack from off his back, aimed it, and turned it on, an even brighter light coming from the flames it was producing.

"No!" Dad said.

The Owlman screeched in pain. Then it vaporized. There was nothing left of it.

We all stared at Doyle.

"Is it—I was just trying to . . ." he faltered.

"Doyle, it was working," I told him. "You could've just waited."

The cave shook and rocks started falling from the ceiling.

"Get out. Now!" Dad said.

We all ran out of the cave just in time before it collapsed. We exited out into a chasm and climbed up the cliff.

All those fake owlmen in suits were back to normal and looked disoriented and confused as to where they were.

I noticed Lily and Charles, the kids we met earlier who were also wearing rubber suits, ran up to a woman I assumed was their mother and had a happy reunion.

"Whatever clue to Kur's tomb there may have been," Dad said. "It's gone now."

We all looked accusingly at Doyle, who looked guilty about it.

We all went back to the airship, heading home. We were in the control, then Doyle entered.

Dad stood up from his seat, approached him, and handed him a letter.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Your pay," Dad said. "We won't be needing your services anymore. When we get home, I want you to pack your things."

I was surprised by that.

"What?" I asked. "But, Dad . . ."

"Ok. Look, I messed up in the cave," Doyle said.

"You messed up?" Dad said. "How many times did you put Zak's life at risk?"

"He saved my life a few times, too," I said defensively. "Doesn't it balance out or anything?"

"Zak's fine," Doyle said. "I take chances. That's how I get things done."

"You can't take chances by putting someone else's life on the line except your own," Raylee said.

"You act like a solo mercenary," Dad told him. "And on a team, that's dangerous."

"Ok, ok. We all need a breather here," Mom said, trying to calm the situation. Doyle looked at her. "If you need anything, call me. I don't think you're the best influence on Zak right now."

"Keep the money," he said, knocking the letter out of Dad's hand. "And you can keep my stuff too. I'm leaving now. See you around, mini-man. Keep in touch . . . family."

He left the room.

"Doyle, wait!" I called.

I tried to stop him, but Dad held me back. I shook him off and followed Doyle out of the room.

The platform opened up below us and Doyle jumped out of it and flew away. I looked out after him, then noticed something down below.

"Mom, Dad," I called.

They, along with the others, appeared beside me a moment later and I gestured to the cliff down below. It had a lot of mysterious markings on it.

"There's a pattern," Dad said. "Some kind of—"

"It's a map," Mom said, then gestured to some of the markings. "There's Sumaric writing. Landmarks. The Mouth of Water. The three watchmen. And there, right in the middle, the Tomb of Kur. But there's no point of reverence. It could still be anywhere in the world."

"At least now we'll know when we're close," Dad said.

"Yeah, and we never would've found it without Doyle," I said.

"Let's get some pictures and cover it up," Dad suggested. "No sense leaving a trail for Argost."

And that's exactly what we did. Then we continued on home.

After we got back, I went to go talk to Sarah. She had gone to her room, and I found her lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling.

"Hey, Sarah," I said.

She looked at me. "Hey, Zak."

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." She sat up on the bed. "What do you want to talk about?"

I sat down next to her on the bed. "Listen, I'm sorry that I haven't really been spending any time with you these past few days. I'm still learning how to be a good boyfriend."

"Well, I wouldn't say neglecting your girlfriend to spend time with your long-lost uncle makes you a bad boyfriend."

I couldn't tell whether that was sarcasm or not, but I decided not to ask.

"So, you forgive me?" I asked.

"I don't know, Zak," she said. "I mean, it's reasons like this that first relationships don't last long. Earlier my twin brother asked me why I liked you, and I told him I didn't know anymore."

That hurt to hear.

"I'm really sorry," I told her.

"I can tell you are, and I forgive you. But don't do that to me again, ok?"

I smiled. "Ok. I'll try not to."

She smiled back. Then she pushed her hair behind her ears. "I've been thinking about that little girl we saw again. Who do you think she is?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. I feel like I should know her, but I don't."

Sarah nodded in agreement. "I feel the same way, and that it's up to me to protect her, but I can't. Especially since it's, apparently, so hard to follow her, even though she's so small. It's so agonizing. And the way she looked at us, it's like she knows who we are and looks up to us."

"I know. But why?"

She shook her head. "We'll find out someday. Right now, let's just focus on us."

"Ok. So what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"My mom wants me and Zack to spend tomorrow with our dad since it's Father's Day after all," Sarah said. "And you should spend it with yours."

"Yeah. But have you talked to your dad since that night?"

Sarah shook her head. "No. I'm going to try and work things out with him, and so will he."

"Well, then, good luck."

"Thanks."

She hesitated for a moment, then leaned in and kissed me. I've really missed kissing her.

After a couple minutes, she pulled away.

"Good night," she told me with a smile.

I smiled back. "Good night."

I gave her one more kiss, then I stood up from the bed and left the room with a smile on my face.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. The Mysterious Little Girl (that's what I named her, because I couldn't think of anything else before it is revealed who she really is) appeared again, and there were more hints as to who she may be. Does that help you guys?**

 **Please review.**


	16. Father's Day at an Amusement Park

**Sarah's POV**

It's 10am, and Zack, Mom, and I are meeting Dad and Emily at an amusement park about 30 miles from where we live. The animals were going hunting in Africa for a while. To be more exact, in Masi Mara in Kenya.

I was dressed in a white T-shirt that said "My dad is the greatest dad in the world" on the front (I feel weird wearing it considering what's been going on between me and my dad), with matching white shorts and sneakers. Zack was wearing the same T-shirt with blue jeans and black sneakers. Mom, same T-shirt, except it says "My husband is the greatest father in the world to our children" on the front, with light blue jeans and white sandals. She also had her hair in a ponytail.

"Mom, are you sure about this?" I asked her.

"Yes, Sarah," she replied. "Your dad promised that he wouldn't talk about Zak and your relationship with him and to just focus on spending the day with us. Even though you and your dad should talk about that and make up."

"I don't think that'll happen."

"It will someday. We just gotta give it time."

Dad and Emily were waiting for us near the entrance of the amusement park. He was also wearing the same T-shirt as us, but on the front it said "I'm the greatest daddy the world."

Ok. I'm wondering why someone ever made these shirts and why we bought them to wear today. They even made one for babies because Emily was wearing one too.

They waved at us and we went over to them. Dad gave Mom a kiss, then she took Emily from his arms. I gave him a hug and he bumped fists with Zack.

We entered the park and went on every ride we walked by. But there were barely any that we could all go on together since Emily's too young for most of them, so Zack and Dad would go on first, then me and Mom. Then me and Dad would go together on the next ride, then Zack and Mom and ex cetera.

After a couple hours, we decided to stop for a while and get something to eat. We all ordered cheeseburgers from a food booth and sat around a table. Emily had her formula since she couldn't eat any solid food right now without any teeth.

"So Sarah," Dad said. "How's everything going between you and Zak?"

I tensed. I put my cheeseburger down and looked at Mom.

"Cj, you promised you wouldn't ask about him," she said to him.

"I promised I wouldn't be judgmental about them dating," he corrected. "But I can't just ask how they're doing?"

Mom looked at me, asking a silent question. I thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

Mom turned back to Dad. "Ok. But she doesn't have to answer questions if she doesn't want to."

"Ok," he said, then turned toward me. "So how's it going between you two?"

"Uh, fine," I replied. "I mean, it was a little rough between us these past few days, but it's ok now."

"Why was it rough?"

I told him about Drew finding her long-lost brother, Doyle, and how he and Doc couldn't quite get along with each other, and that Zak was kind of neglecting me to spend time with him.

When I was finished, Dad chuckled. "Yeah, I know how what that feels like."

"What, exactly?" I asked.

"To deal with your spouse not getting along with some members of your family."

He looked accusingly at Mom.

"Shut up," she told him. "They're the ones who were treating me like shit ever since we met, and I treated them the same way back."

"I know."

"Wait," Zack said. "Who are you talking about exactly? Uncle Rick or Aunt Michele? Or both?"

"Neither," they both said in unison.

They're our dad's brother and sister.

"Then who?" I asked.

Dad hesitated a moment before answering. "My parents."

"Your parents?" Zack and I asked in unison.

We had never met our grandparents before. Mom and Dad didn't like talking about them, and neither did our aunt or uncle.

"Yeah," Dad said, his voice tight. "But let's not talk about them and get back to the subject."

We kind of had no choice but to agree, even though we didn't want to.

"Your mother told me that you're giving Zak sword lessons," Dad told me. "How's that going?"

"Good," I replied. "But we haven't really done anymore lessons since what happened the last time."

"What happened the last time?"

I told him about Zak slicing my shoulder in half and how I got back at him by stabbing him in the stomach.

Dad chuckled a little bit at that. "As brutal as that sounds, I'm glad you got him back."

"Well, he didn't do that to me on purpose," I said in Zak's defense. "But I did. Mostly because he let his guard down."

"Well, that's what he gets."

"Uh, yeah."

I was feeling uncomfortable again.

"Listen, Sarah," Dad said. "I'm sorry for how I treated you a couple weeks ago, but I still don't approve of you dating him."

I sighed. "Why?"

"Because you're still too young."

"If you just got to know him, you might actually like him. He's a good guy."

"Well, can I meet him?"

"I—I don't know. He and his family are pretty busy."

"Well, either way, I still don't approve of it."

I sighed again. The conversation ended from there.

"Ooooook," Mom said. "Let's finish up here and go on more rides."

We finished our lunch in silence. Then we walked around for a while.

Zack wanted to go on the tallest roller coaster in the park so we went on that ride, but it didn't really cheer any of us up. But luckily for us, there is one ride that always tends to put someone whose in a bad mood in a good one. The ride is called the Scrambler, and it swings us around really fast like you're in car going more than a hundred miles an hour. It's really hard not to smile. We went on it twice, and then a third time later on.

Eventually it got dark and we went home.

Well, this day could've went better if Dad hadn't asked me about Zak, but at least it ended ok, I guess.

I'm not ever going to let him come between me and Zak, or anyone else for that matter, if I can help it. But I know some day he'll realize how great a guy Zak is.

I just hope that day comes soon.

* * *

 **Yeah, this was a really short chapter. The original title of this story was** _Spending Father's Day at an Amusement Park_ **, but it was too long.** **The next one will be longer.**

 **Please review.**


	17. The Swarm at the Edge of Space

**Zak's POV**

I swear, sometimes, Komodo is a dog.

I'm playing fetch with him in our airship with a rubber squeaky ball, and Sarah's doing the same with her dog, Shillow. (Sometimes they got each other's ball, which caused them to fight, so we had to make sure that we don't throw it where they'll cross paths.)

Sarah's been quiet since she and her family came back a while ago, I asked her how it went with her dad yesterday, and she just said ok. I didn't ask for details.

We all were in the control room on the airship, flying the clear night sky going no where specific. Komodo brought me back the ball.

"This is airship Saturday responding to unknown aircraft," Mom said into the speaker. "Please repeat the nature of your emergency."

We were following behind an aircraft, and Mom was trying to contact it.

"Something's distorting the signal," Dad said. "Any idea what's causing it?"

I looked outside and noticed a lot of things passing by.

"Yeah," I said, gesturing out the window.

"Atmospheric jellyfish," Mom said.

Komodo was waiting for me to throw the ball.

"Fisk, take over," I said, tossing the ball to him.

He caught it and Komodo jumped on him, knocking him to the ground.

Sarah and I gathered with the rest of our family.

"Strange," Dad said. "They're not suppose to be aggressive creatures."

"Huh. Maybe they didn't read their own entry in the data base," I said.

The jellyfish climbed on the aircraft we were following and, somehow, destroyed the engine to it. I noticed something launch out of the aircraft and I knew what it was.

"Right there," I said. "An escape pod."

"I see it," Dad said.

He steered the airship toward it and followed it. More jellyfish climbed onto it.

"We're not gonna reach it," Dad said.

We were far from it, and it was falling toward the ground, but I had an idea. I climbed down below, pressed some buttons, and sent our large crane down toward the pod. It grabbed it and stopped falling.

"Quick thinking, Zak," Mom said. "See, that would be from my half of the DNA. Your dad's chromosomes are the ones that just sit there and yell 'We're not gonna reach it.'"

Sarah and Raylee chuckled at that.

Then the airship suddenly dropped.

"Too much momentum," Dad said, struggling to hold it up. "We're going down."

And we were too. We all held on for dear life.

"Drew, full reverse thrusters," Dad said.

She did just that. Dad pulled back on the throttle and we stopped, leveling out. The crane lifted the escape pod into the airship.

"Nice flying, Dad," I told him.

"Cost us ninety-three percent of reserved power," he said. "But yes, it was nice flying." He looked at Mom.

"Fine," she conceded. "You're a quick thinker too. Ok. Let's go see the catch of the day."

"Just let me get above this cloud cover for a solar recharge."

He did that, then we all headed to the back of the airship.

The crane carried the pod to the platform in front of us and laid it down. The pod opened up and a man stepped out of it. My parents seemed to know who he was.

"Epsilon?" Dad called.

"A pleasure to see you again, Doctor Saturday," he said. "But, technically, it's _Agent_ Epsilon again. My people talked me back into service."

"We never even knew you'd retired," Mom said. "You just disappeared for ten years. Not even a farewell party?"

"Yes, well, my people aren't big on parties." He turned toward me. "Zak Saturday. Fiskerton. And you call the komodo dragon Komodo. How . . . imaginative."

That surprised me since we hadn't even introduced ourselves yet.

"Wait," I said. "How'd you know our names? I thought you hadn't spoken to Mom and Dad for ten years."

"I read your file," he said simply.

"I—I've got a file?"

"Everyone has a file."

"Huh. I've got a file." I sounded proud about it.

Sarah glared at me.

"What?" I asked her.

She just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Nothing."

"I suppose you don't know who I am, or do you?" Raylee asked Epsilon.

"Oh, I know who you are," he replied. "Raylee Hollinger, the Protector of America. I admire your work for keeping that country safe from all crime."

"Thanks."

"I've also read your file. You've lived quite an interesting life."

Raylee's eyes widened. Something tells me that there's something in her file that she doesn't want anyone to know about.

"I wouldn't say my life is interesting," she said. "But you really shouldn't be reading people's files unless they give you permission to."

"It's what I do best," he told her, which made her mad, then turned toward the twins. "So this is your family. Sarah and Zack Hollinger. Six pet cheetahs, Amber, Kimbia, Kika, Chewie, Toto, and Honey. Shillow, your pet wolf. And Pikachu your Pokémon. But this isn't your entire family."

Raylee still looked mad. Mom decided to change the subject.

"So what brings you back into service after ten years?" she asked Epsilon.

"Actually, it's been eleven years," he corrected. "And I did give my people one condition." A boy about my age appeared from behind him. "Greet the Saturdays, Francis."

"Greeted," he said.

He had some kind of electronic game in his hands and he was fiddling with it. Mom and Dad were . . . shocked? Something like that.

"Single dad," Epsilon said. "So hard to find good child care these days. If I was going to come back, I insisted Francis be allowed to come along."

"Oh, well, that's . . . congratulations," Dad said, then placed a hand on my shoulder. "Play with the boy, Zak."

"What?" I asked, surprised.

He pushed me and we walked over to them. Sarah and Zack walked with us.

"So you have no idea why the atmospheric jellyfish attacked your craft?" Dad asked Epsilon.

"Could I ever lie to you?" he replied.

They left us alone so that they could talk. I turned toward Francis and held out my hand.

"Hey, so, uh, I'm Zak, and—"

I took a step closer to him, and when I did, a sort of green force field formed around him, shocking my hand a little bit.

"No unauthorized access," he said without looking up from his game. "Please stay back, sir."

"Man, you gotta work on your first impressions," I said.

"Really? You seem impressed."

Sarah, Zack, and I looked at each other and I could tell the three of us were thinking the same thing: What's this guy's problem?

Fiskerton was standing next to us, and he still had Komodo's ball in his hand. He squeaked it to get his attention, which he did, then dropped it above Francis. He caught it and Komodo jumped on top of him, knocking him to the ground, and caused the green force field to shock him. But he succeeded in getting his ball.

Sarah and Zack laughed.

"Fiskerton!" Mom scolded.

He said something in his defense, but then the airship started shaking and the alarms went off. We all ran toward the control room. Once we got there, Mom and Dad went to the controls.

"Visual inspection is clear," Dad said.

"No damage showing," Epsilon said.

"Well, something hit us," Mom said.

"I sense those jellyfish," Sarah said.

"Grab something," Dad said. "We're moving now."

He moved the airship and we noticed the jellyfish. They climbed onto the airship.

"No," Dad said. "They must be blocking the solar panels. We haven't had time to recharge."

The airship shook again. The jellyfish were now inside, and we began fighting them away.

"There's too many of them," Mom said.

Epsilon tapped something around his neck and caused a sonic sound that shocked the jellyfish and the animals (which they really did _not_ like), but more kept coming.

"Fall back," Dad said. "We have to focus on getting them off the solar collectors."

We left the control room, and the jellyfish followed.

"Zak, try your cryptid powers," Mom said.

I grabbed the claw hanging from my belt, held it toward them, and activated my powers. Some of them became under my control and they grabbed onto the others. I noticed Epsilon had a surprised look on his face.

"What?" I asked. "That wasn't in my file?"

"It is now," he replied.

I turned back toward the jellyfish. "You guys are just sick."

"Still, you have to admire their determination," Francis said.

"What? No, you don't."

I lost my connection with them and they started toward us again.

"Into the armory," Dad said. "We can regroup in there."

So that's where we all headed. Dad and Raylee kept the jellyfish away from us all while on our way there. After everyone got inside, Mom closed the doors to keep the jellyfish out.

"So now what?" she asked.

Dad grabbed a couple cortex disruptors and gave one of them to Mom and another to Epsilon.

"If we reach an electrical access panel, I think we can shake them off with a reverse polarity jolt," Dad said.

"Does the airship still have enough juice?" Mom asked.

Epsilon chuckled.

"Uh, what's funny about that?"

"Only that you skipped right to the airship power levels," he replied. "As if fighting through a swarm of angry jellyfish is the easy part."

Mom unsheathed her fire sword. "Watch me."

We all stood in front of the door, ready for a battle. The doors opened, but there wasn't a single jellyfish in sight. We all were confused (except for Francis who wasn't paying attention at all).

"Not even a sign of them," Dad said.

"Moved on?" Epsilon suggested.

"To where?" Mom asked.

"No," Sarah said. "I can sense them all around us."

"Where around us?" Zack asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure."

Fiskerton was freaking out and was pointing at the walls.

"There in the walls!" I said.

After I said that, the jellyfish broke through the ceiling and the walls. Mom used the fire from her sword to shoot at them, Dad and Epsilon used the cortex disruptors, and Raylee, Sarah, Zack, and Pikachu used their powers.

"They set a trap," I said, completely stunned. "How are they even that smart?"

"Some animals are smart enough to set traps on their own," Amber said, sounding offended.

"The closest electrical panel is on the level below," Dad said. "Let's clear a path to the stairwell and—"

He was interrupted when Fiskerton pulled up a floor board and threw it down, opening a way down to the next floor.

"Also good," Dad admitted.

"Last one down there is a rotten egg," Zack said, then jumped down the hole.

Raylee laughed. The animals went next, then Komodo.

"Francis, we have to move," Epsilon said. "Now!"

"But Dad, I'm in the zone," he complained, still playing with his game.

Epsilon was mad. "When I give you an order—"

He screamed in pain and collapsed on the ground. We noticed a jellyfish was on his back. That got Francis's attention.

"Dad!" he said. "Dad? Wake up. Dad!"

"Fiskerton, grab Epsilon," Dad said.

He tried to pick him up, but Francis stopped him.

"Don't touch him," he said.

"Zak?" Mom said.

I knew what she wanted me to do.

"I got it," I replied.

I aimed the claw and slingshot it toward Francis. It wrapped around his wrist, then I jumped down the hole, pulling him down with me. Fiskerton followed behind while carrying Epsilon, then Raylee and Pikachu, and finally my parents.

Fiskerton picked up the board off the floor, and held it up in the hole, keeping the jellyfish from getting through. Mom unsheathed her fire sword and shot fire from it to seal the board back in place, the jellyfish pounding it. Then we all headed to the infirmary.

After we got there, Mom treated Epsilon, and Dad was at the electrical panel while the rest of us, except Francis, blocked the door to keep the jellyfish from coming in.

"Well, we're lucky it was one sting," Mom said, referring to Epsilon. "He's out for a while, but he'll recover."

"Thank you," Francis said, then he went and sat in the corner of the room and continued to play his game.

Most of us didn't understand that, but Mom did.

"It's a classic coping mechanism," she explained. "That game is his safe place. It can't be easy for a young boy living in Epsilon's world."

"Yeah," I agreed with a little sarcasm. "I can't imagine being eleven and dealing with secrets and cryptids and stuff."

"You grew up this way, kiddo. He's just getting started, and he could probably use a friend his own age to talk him through it."

I realized she was talking about me, and I didn't like it.

"What?" I protested. "No, Mom. I'm sure the game is much more comforting than—"

She pushed me over to him. I looked back at them, and they encouraged me to talk to him. I sighed and turned to him.

"Hey, uh, I just want you to know that I know what it's like," I began. "One time I zapped my mom unconscious when—"

I tried to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder when that force field appeared around him again.

"Can you please stop doing that?" I said in frustration.

"But then you might actually touch me," he replied.

I sighed. Then everything went dark.

"Doc?" Mom asked.

"Saving power for the jolt," he replied.

The emergency lights turned on.

"We'll only have one chance at this," Dad continued. "It's ready. I still don't believe these creatures are deliberately hostile. If we can scare them away with enough of a shock, they should leave us alone."

"So we're gonna scare the things that have us out numbered a hundred to one?" I asked.

He pressed the button on the panel and activated the shock.

"They're off the solar collector," Dad said after a moment. "We're charging back up."

"Then it's working," I said.

"Can't be sure yet. We're still burning more power than we're getting back. Have to keep the whole charge as long as possible. Convince them not to come back."

Red lights started blaring.

"No recharge," Mom said. "They're back."

As soon as she said that, there was a lot of pounding on the door.

"I think they know we're in here," I said.

"They do," Sarah confirmed.

"We need to send a distress signal of our own," Dad said.

"With no power?" Mom asked.

"The external antenna. It has an independent power source."

"We're going from the bottom to the top of the ship? Fighting jellies the whole way? Carrying Epsilon?"

"The ventilation ducks go straight up to the engine room, then the antenna is only an exit hatch away."

"There's no way you and Fiskerton will fit. I don't even know if I'd be able to—"

"I'll fit," I said.

"No," Mom said. "New plan."

"We don't have time for that, Mom."

"We'll all make the break," Dad decided. "With any luck, the jellyfish won't even notice Zak slipping into the ducks."

"Alone?" Mom said.

"No. Not alone," Francis said all of a sudden. "I'd fit in there too."

I didn't like the idea of him being with me.

"Uh, thanks, Francis," I said. "But I'm sure it sounds more dangerous than it is. I mean, how many of those things can there be? A thousand?"

"Those things hurt my father," he said. "This is my fight too."

I wanted to argue, but I looked at my parents, and they gave me encouraging looks.

"No, guys," I protested. "Francis?"

"Zak," Dad said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Imagine me on that table."

I did and started feeling sympathetic, but I didn't like it.

I sighed, then looked at Francis. "Ok. But so help me if you shock me again—"

"Authorizing Zak Saturday," he said into an intercom around his wrist, then held out his hand to me.

I shook it, and there was no shock.

"Uh, what are we, chop liver?" Zack asked.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "If you two fit, so can we."

I looked at them apologetically. "Sorry, guys. Kind of got distracted there for a moment."

"Whatever. Can we come with you or not?"

I nodded. Then the jellyfish busted through the door. Our parents began blasting them.

"Into the passageway," Dad said.

Fiskerton picked up Epsilon and we ran. After about thirty feet, I found a ventilation duck.

"This way," I called. "Cover us."

Our parents kept blasting at them, keeping them back. I used the claw to open the vent and I climbed in. Francis, Sarah, and Zack followed behind and closed the vent.

Our family ran by and the jellyfish followed them. One was suspicious of the vent and looked inside. Francis gasped and I covered his mouth. The jellyfish didn't see any of us, and followed the others.

We started climbing up the shaft toward the engine room. Along the way, I decided that I would try to get along with Francis.

"Hey, uh, I'm sorry," I told him.

"For what?" he asked.

"For treating you like a jerk. You know, making fun of you. Not wanting you to come along."

"Oh. I am also sorry."

"For what?"

"I don't know. I just thought that's what you wanted me to say."

I groaned. "You shocked me. How 'bout that for one?"

"You entered my personal space. I take no blame. Your fault!"

"I can't believe you. I want my apology back. I'm taking it back."

"Oh my God," Sarah groaned. "Will you guys please shut up and just climb before I make you. Jeez, why did we make you guys go first?"

"I know," Zack agreed.

I was climbing up above them while they were below us. I was about to respond when something didn't feel right.

"Wait," I said. "Did you guys feel that?"

"The intelligence in here dropping?" Francis asked. "Yes, every time you open your mouth."

Zack laughed. "Burn."

Sarah kicked his head.

"Ow!"

"Shut up." She looked up at me. "Zak, I can feel what you're feeling too. The jellyfish. They know we're in here."

When she finished saying that, a jellyfish appeared below us. Francis freaked out (which I didn't understand why since he wasn't not the closest of us to it), then he climbed up faster, bumping into me and almost knocking us both down. Sarah and Zack laughed.

"Get out of my way!" Francis told me.

"Just calm down," I told him, then I grabbed the claw. "I've got this one."

I activated my powers, got control of the jellyfish, and sent it away.

"I thought your cryptid power didn't work on them," Francis said.

"On one? Sure," I said. "The problem is when there's—"

I didn't get to finish because a lot more jellyfish appeared. I started freaking out too.

"Zak, go!" Sarah said.

She didn't have to tell me twice. I grabbed Francis around the waist, slingshot the claw up the ventilation duck, it grabbed on to something, and pulled us up. Sarah and Zack followed close behind by flying.

"The engine room," Francis said while I retracted the claw's cable. "Then we've nearly reached the antenna."

At the moment, I didn't care. All I cared about was keeping the jellyfish away from us.

I grabbed the vent off the floor and put it back in place. We all tried to hold it down, but they pushed against it, knocking us away. The jellyfish came out of the vent, then they morphed together, which was quite a surprise to all of us.

"Did you know they could do that?" Francis asked.

I shook my head. The big jellyfish monster started tearing apart the engine room.

"But you know the good news?" I said. "Now there's only one of them."

I activated my powers again and got it under control. I sent it to the vent and it went down it. I looked back at everybody else and noticed Francis playing with his game again.

"Are you serious?" I asked him. "No. You are not fighting your happy-fun-time-play place now."

I walked up to him and snatched his game from him. I looked at it and noticed something odd about it.

"What?" I asked.

There were jellyfish on the screen. Before I could register what was really going on, I heard a sound that made my ears hurt.

I screamed in pain, then I collapsed and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

I awoke to myself tied up and bound along with Sarah and Zack, who were also awake and struggling to get out. I looked around and realized we were on the roof of the airship.

"Whoa."

"Ugh," I heard Francis say. "Everything is so dramatic with you."

He was at the antenna, trying to figure out the code to access it, and he had the claw too.

"Dramatic?" I asked. "You blasted me!"

"But I also carried you out here away from the big jelly monster. See? I'm not such a bad guy."

"Not a good one, either," I muttered.

"You've got that right," Sarah agreed.

"Augh. All that shy-kid, worried-dad thing was an act the whole time."

"Mostly," Francis agreed. "But I really do dislike you."

He tried another code to the antenna, but it didn't work.

He turned toward me. "Help me work this antenna. I can't hack your access codes."

I frowned.

He walked over to me, holding the claw in his hand. "I'll untie you if you agree. We do both need a rescue, don't we?"

I nodded reluctantly. He used the claw to cut the ropes from around me, and as soon as he was done, I grabbed it, trying to pull it out of his hand.

"Only observing it," Francis claimed. "I'm not a thief."

I found that hard to believe. I moved over to Sarah and tried to cut her ropes.

"That's ok," she said. "I got it."

She flexed her arms and broke the rope, then she ripped the ropes from around her ankles. Zack did the same thing.

"How'd you guys do that?" I asked them.

Sarah was about to answer, but Francis beat her to it.

"They have super strength," he said. "Of course, you wouldn't know that."

I glared at him.

"Well, I actually have told him that a few times," Sarah said. "But that was still rude for you to say to him."

I stood up and went to the antenna and put the code in.

"So, your people," I said to Francis. "They're making an atmospheric jellyfish video game?"

He just stared at me.

"Hey, I can work fast or slow depending on whether I believe your story."

He considered it. "You've seen what they can do to aircraft. What our people want is a living air defense system." He pulled out the game from his bag and held it up. "This is the control device."

"Control device?" I said, a realization hitting me. "That's why they've been attacking, isn't it? My dad said they weren't an aggressive species. Your game thing must be driving them nuts."

"It is," Sarah confirmed.

"We're working out the bugs," Francis said defensively.

I shook my head and put in the rest of the code to the antenna and it accepted it.

"We're up," I said. "I'm calling in Dr. Beeman. He's got a high atmosphere craft that'll—"

I was interrupted when Francis pushed me away from the antenna.

"My people can handle the rescue," he said.

I knocked him away. "Your people have done enough already."

We began shoving each other. Sarah and Zack were laughing like they were really enjoying this.

"Step back," Francis said. "You don't know what you're—"

Before he could finish, we felt the airship shake. We turned around and saw the jelly monster's hand come out of the ventilation duck. It was feeling around like it was looking for something to grab. Maybe us.

It extended out and wrapped around the antenna.

"No!" I said.

It tore it off and threw it over the airship to the ground below. It's hand was now searching for us. We had to dodge it a couple times. I noticed Francis was using the control device, and I knocked it out of his hand.

"Hey!" he protested.

"It's not working, ok?" I said. "You're just making it angrier."

The jelly monster found the device. One of it's tentacles touched it and seemed to suck if all the way to its head, and it went back in the air ducked.

"Maybe that was all it wanted?" Francis said.

We all went over to it and looked down it.

"That's not what I'm feeling," I said. "You know how that device was making them nuts? Well, now it's stuck inside their brain."

We noticed the jellyfish were coming up the duck and we moved away from it quickly. We all ran up the back of the airship, and the jellyfish followed.

"Time to abandon ship," Francis said.

"Yeah? With what?" I asked him.

"What about your escape pod?" Sarah suggested.

"It won't hold everyone," Francis said.

"Oh, don't worry," I assured him. "We'll come back for you. Probably."

The jellyfish caught up to us. We started climbing down the airship. We lost our footing a couple times, but managed not to fall.

"Bet you wish you had a claw right now," I told Francis.

I grabbed mine and slingshot it to the side of the airship. I wrapped my arm around Sarah's waist and we went over the side together. Zack followed us by flying.

We noticed Francis walking below us, surprisingly keeping his balance.

"Bet you wish you had magnetic boots right now," he said.

Zack laughed. "Another burn."

Sarah glared at him.

I slingshot my claw to the part halfway to the bottom of the airship, and me and Sarah slid down to it and Zack followed. I used the claw to grab onto the side, then turned toward Sarah.

"Uh, do you want to fly with Zack or come with me?" I asked her.

"I want to fly, but I'll come with you. " she answered nervously. "I trust you."

"Good to know. Ok, now wrap your arms around my back and don't let go until I say so."

"Oh, I won't."

She did what I told her and wrapped her arms around me, holding on really tight and crushing me.

"I'll go down and get ready to catch you guys if you fall," Zack said.

I nodded and he went down.

I moved to the edge, Sarah holding me tighter, then I jumped over, swinging and landing on the crane holding the escape pod.

Sarah let me go, shaking. "Oh, thank God, we made it."

Me and Zack laughed. Then we noticed Francis was in trouble. The jellyfish were gaining on him, and he was using his sonic collar to keep them away, but it wasn't working.

I knew I was going to hate what I was gonna do next, but I had to help him. Even Sarah and Zack knew we had to.

"Hang on!" I called to Francis.

I slingshot myself over to him and Sarah and Zack flew. Francis grabbed the cable of my claw and slid down it, landing on top of me. He pressed a button on the side of it, which caused the claw to retract, and we fell on to the platform down below. I was standing on the edge of it and fell over.

"Zak!" Sarah called.

Francis caught my wrist just in time, but I was now dangling over the side.

"You little freak!" I said to him. "I can't believe I came back for you."

"As I knew you would," he replied. He had the claw again. "So brave. So predictable. Good guys, bad guys, you always know their next move. Victory goes to the grey men in the middle, because you never know how we'll surprise you."

"That sounds kind of racist," Zack said.

"Pull him up, Francis," Sarah threatened. "Before I make you."

She had her sword unsheathed and was standing behind him.

"I will if he does something for me first," he said. "I'll even trade it with his claw."

"What do you want, Francis?" I asked.  
"I want a jellyfish. Your power can give me one."

"No way."

"You can't bluff me, Zak. I've read your file. You're not underhanded enough to beat me at my own game."

He opened up his satchel and there was an air-tight cylinder in it. He opened the lid.

I sighed. I activated my powers, got control of one of the jellyfish, the one that had the control device in its brain, and sent it inside the cylinder. Francis closed the lid.

"I hope we can work together again soon," he said, which sounded like sarcasm, and handed me the claw. Then he let me go, leaving me to fall to my death.

"Zak!" Sarah called.

I slingshot the claw. It grabbed onto the airship and pulled me up. Once I got back on the platform, I noticed Francis getting in his escape pod and he left.

"Ok," Zack said. "So now what do we do?"

"We find our parents," I replied.

They both nodded.

"We should probably follow Francis, because I'm pretty sure he won't leave without his father," Sarah suggested.

I nodded. And that's exactly what we did.

Sarah had to carry me most of the way (which was really embarrassing, but it was better than Zack doing it), and we found Francis making a hole in the bottom of the airship, big enough for Epsilon to fit through, and they left.

I slingshot the claw through the hole, which led right into the room where our family was. Sarah and Zack flew in behind me.

"Zak," Mom called, then gave me a hug.

"Sarah! Zack!" the animals called.

"Hey, guys," Sarah said, then petted them on their heads.

Then the jellyfish came through the hole. They surrounded us.

"Form a circle," Dad said. "We'll hold them off as long as we can."

Everyone did just that, except me.

"No, guys. It's ok," I said. "Uh, I'm pretty sure."

One of the jellyfishes' tentacles almost touched Mom, but they backed away and left out of the hole.

"Zak, what did you do?" Mom asked me, then ruffled my hair.

The lights turned on.

"The power's back on," Dad said. "We're recharging."

Our family looked at me, Sarah, and Zack gratefully.

"Actually, Francis is the one you should be thanking," I said. "He's not so bad when you know how to deal with him. I even got to play with his video game."

Well, today was a crazy day, but it usually always is. That's just the life of a Saturday.

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. The next one is going to bring in a lot of new characters.**

 **Please review.**


	18. Black Monday

**Zak's POV**

Me, my family, and the Hollingers are in an Aztec temple somewhere in Mexico, looking for a kind of mirror that my parents want to study. The temple looked like ancient ruins, making it seem like we were in Egypt.

"Tezcatlipoca, one of the Aztecs most powerful gods." Mom said, gesturing to a statue of the god near the wall with a mirror next to it. "Night and sorcery. That's the smoke mirror he used to vanquish enemies."

Komodo walked up to it, but Mom pulled him back by his tail.

"I'd be careful," she said. "Lots of dark magic in there. If you close your eyes, you can feel it."

Fiskerton, Komodo, and I closed our eyes. I sort of felt the dark magic a little bit, but it was vague.

"Or you can open your eyes and see the prisms imbedded in the walls," Dad said. "They're catching the light from the outside, making the refracted light seem depulsing. Very impressive engineering."

"No, no. You can't engineer magic like this," Mom argued. "Prisms don't explain the green tint."

"There's always an explanation." Dad turned toward me. "Look closely, Zak. Tell me what you think."

I walked up to the mirror and examined it. "Green glow. It could be a via luminescent film, right?"

Fiskerton seemed to agree with me.

"No. No, it could be," Mom said. "But go intuitive, Zak. Tell me what you feel."

"I feel like every time we find something weird, you two have to argue."

"Honey, we're not arguing."

"We're debating and discussing," Dad assured me, agreeing. "That's how we learn. It's essential for every scientist to do everything by the book."

"I really don't see a difference between debating and arguing," Raylee said. "To me, they're exactly the same thing."

"Ok," I said. "But how about we just read ahead to the good part?"

I may have said that too soon, because the moment I touched the mirror again, there was a bright green light and debris started to fall.

"Zak!" Mom said.

I tried to pull away from the mirror and I couldn't, but she was able to pull me away.

The light eventually blinded us. When my vision cleared, there was chaos all around me. Debris was falling all over the place. Zon could hardly dodge any of it, and the same with Komodo and the animals. But I couldn't see Sarah anywhere. That is until she grabbed my arm.

"Zak, what is going on?" she asked frantically.

"I don't know," I replied, just as frantic.

She looked around, then suddenly gasped. "Zack!"

At first I thought she was calling me, but then I looked where she was looking and realized she was talking about her brother. He was lying on the ground, unconscious. I'm guessing a rock hit him pretty hard on his forehead, because there was a big bump there.

But that wasn't the worst of it. A part of the temple's walls were about to fall on my dad, but he didn't notice.

"Dad, look out!" I called to him.

I tried to run to his aid, but for some reason I couldn't move at all. I mean, my feet were moving, but I couldn't move a step. It was like anti-gravity.

Then the statue of Tezcatlipoca next to me started shaking. I knew it was going to fall on me. I tried to move, but of course, I couldn't.

I groaned. "I can't get any traction."

"Zak!" Mom called.

She ran toward me. Then, out of nowhere, a twister came and lifted her off her feet, sending her flying.

I still couldn't move, but it was too late. The statue fell on top of me, and I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up to someone looking down at me, and I recognized that someone.

"Mom?" I groaned. Then I remembered what happened, and I sat up. "Mom! What happened to—"

She laid me back down. "Just rest. You got hit pretty hard."

I looked around the room. We were in the infirmary on the airship, and I was lying on one of the beds. I had a patch on my right eye, and bandages on my right arm, but it didn't really hurt that much.

"I'm fine," I insisted. "What happened to everyone else?"

"You should go back to sleep for a while," Mom suggested.

"Mom."

She knew she wasn't going to win the argument.

I sat up and then pulled the patch off my eye. It was swollen shut. Mom walked up to a curtain a few feet away and pulled it aside, showing Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon half covered in bandages.

"You guys look, uh . . . good," I told them.

Fiskerton complained.

I looked past them and noticed someone lying on a bed behind them.

"Dad!" I called.

I ran to his bedside. He had bandages covering his eyes and up his forehead.

"Dad," I said. "I tried to save you, but the floor, it just . . . evaporated."

He muttered something.

"What? I didn't understand."

He muttered again.

"Buccaneer?"

"He just needs some rest," Mom said. "And he's not the only one."

"We should get him back home," I suggested. "There's better equipment there."

"I wish we could. But if we fly now, the change in air pressure could make his head trauma even worse."

"But maybe—"

"Trust me. He'll be ok."

I nodded. Then a thought came to me: Where were the Hollingers?

"We're over here, Dude," Zack said to me.

He probably heard my thoughts by using his powers.

He and the rest of his family were at the other end of the room. He had bandages on his forehead and left arm. His mom, Raylee, didn't seem to have any injuries at all, like my mom. Pikachu's tail was completely covered in bandages. The animals, well, Shillow and a couple of the cubs were completely covered except their eyes, ears, and mouth. The others were only half covered, like their tails and midsections.

But the only one who was still unconscious and lying on a bed was Sarah. I ran to her. She had bandages around her forehead and back. I caressed her cheek with the back of my hand.

"What happened to her?" I asked, even though I think I already knew.

"Well, I was unconscious at the time," Zack said. "But the wall of the temple was about to fall on and Sarah used her own body to shield me from it."

"She's a good sister," Raylee said. "It hit her pretty hard, so she'll be out for a while."

I nodded. "Ok."

"How 'bout some dinner?" Mom suggested. "Since we're in Mexico, I was thinking enchiladas?"

"I love enchiladas," Raylee said with a little too much excitement.

"Yeah, I know you do," Zack said.

She glared at him.

I turned back to Mom. "You sure Dad's gonna be ok?"

"I promise," she replied. "The scenery will do him good." She looked outside the window at the sunset. "It sure is beautiful here."

I nodded in agreement.

* * *

Later that night, after eating dinner and going to bed, I was sleeping in one of the bedrooms when I woke up to a squishy sound.

"Augh," I groaned. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."

I sat up and turned on the light on the nightstand. I looked down on the bed, freaked out, and got off of it when I noticed that it looked like it was made of Jell-O.

I backed away from it and bumped into the desk behind me, accidentally knocking over the snow globe that was on it. It shattered against the floor, and all of a sudden, real snow began blowing from it.

I was totally confused. I put my hands on either side of my face and shook it side to side.

"Wake up. Wake up," I said, then groaned when I realized it was real. "Why is it never just a dream?"

I left the room and ran right into Fisk. Literally.

"Fisk, something really weird is going on here," I told him. "Like back at the Aztec Temple."

He disagreed with me.

"No, look."

I opened the door to the room and immediately snow blew out of it. I closed the door.

Fisk pointed at me accusingly. _What did you do?_

"What did I do?" I said in defense. "It's not even my bedroom. How is that my fault?"

"Zak!" I heard a voice call.

Zack was running toward me.

"Zack, what is it?" I asked him.

"I'm sensing that something's wrong here," he replied.

"I know, and I'm trying to figure out what that is."

Fiskerton suddenly growled and looked down the hallway. I looked down it too and saw a silhouette of a person.

"Mom?" I called.

The person backed away and I realized that the person was too short and a male.

"Not Mom."

The guy turned around and ran.

"Hey!" I called, then ran after him.

I noticed he was on the ceiling.

"Who runs on the ceiling?" I wondered. Then I looked down and realized I was also, somehow, running on the ceiling. "Oh."

The walls suddenly turned to soup and I slid back down to the floor.

I continued running after the guy, who was also back on the floor. He came to a dead end. When he turned around to face me, I tackled him to the floor.

"Ok, who are—" I faltered because the guy I tackled looked a lot like me, only his hair was different. The black and the white were switched. "Me. You are . . ."

"No, I'm me," he said, his voice sounding the exact same as mine. "And you're toast."

He flipped me behind him using his leg.

I hit the air ducked and bounced off of it, landing on my feet in front of him. He tried to punch me, but I blocked it with my arm.

"I always start with a left jab, too," I said.

"Then a right uppercut?" he finished. "Yawn."

We both kicked out with our right foot.

"I knew you were gonna do that," we both said in unison.

We glared at each other.

I backed against the wall, bounced off, then pushed him against another. He bounced off it and onto the floor. I held his arms down from above his head.

"The smoke mirror," I realized. "You're what happened when I touched it, aren't you?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "But you're the one going back in."

He placed his legs on either side of my head and threw me forward, and I landed on the ground. I stood up and noticed he had something in his hand: a claw just like mine, except it was a little different. He activated his powers and his eyes started glowing green instead of orange.

"Whoa," I said. "What's with your claw?"

"What's a claw?" he asked.

Then suddenly, Fiskerton busted through the wall.

"Fisk, help me out, buddy," I said to him. "He's gotta—"

When he faced me, his eyes were glowing green. He charged at me, but I dodged and he tripped.

"What'd you do to him?" I asked my other self.

" _I_ didn't do anything," he replied. "The fang did."

Then Zon and Komodo came down the hallway toward us. They were also under his control. They attacked me, but I dodged each of their attacks.

I grabbed my claw and activated my own powers. "Let them go now!"

They screeched in pain. My other half wasn't backing down.

"I said let them go," I told him.

"Make me," he replied.

I ran toward him, slamming down the claw like a sword. He blocked it with his own. We kept at it for a little while.

Then suddenly water dropped down from an air duck, falling right on top of him. He dropped his claw. I slid toward it and picked it up.

"No!" he said.

I turned toward him. "Never mess with my family again."

He pounded the ground with both his fists in defeat.

I deactivated my powers and Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon collapsed to the ground.

"Mom, I need another hand in here!" I called. "That's not mine."

"You sure calling for mommy is such a good idea?" my other half asked. "Do you think I'm the only one who came out of the mirror?"

I was confused by what he was saying.

"Are you seriously that slow?" he asked me. "You don't think it's weird that she and Raylee are the only one of you losers without a scratch on—"

He was interrupted when he was suddenly blasted by a beam. He yelled in pain and collapsed to the ground.

I turned around and noticed my mom, who was holding a cortex disrupter, Zack and Raylee, whose hands were burning red with fire.

"What was that for?" I asked. "I had him under control."

My mom walked up to me, gave me a kiss on my forehead, and ruffled my hair. "Just making sure my baby is safe."

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "And you asked for help. So we helped you."

I shrugged. "Ok, fine."

Zack and I took Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon back to the infirmary while our moms locked up my other half somewhere. Afterwards, the four of us gathered in the kitchen where my mom made us all hot chocolate while I explained what happened.

"It was weird," I began. "It was like Zak Monday didn't just look like me, he moved like me. I mean, almost, but kind of twisted."

"Zak Monday?" Mom asked.

"You know, like a no-fun-version-of-a-Saturday, seemed to fit."

"Zak Monday it is. Here you go."

She handed me, Zack, and Raylee a cup of cocoa.

"So, if he came out of the smoke mirror, then, it's what? Like a portal to an alternate universe?" I wondered.

Mom took a sip of her cocoa. "Have you ever really tasted hot chocolate. I mean, really tasted it?"

"Yeah, it tastes like chocolate, only it's hot, and there's sometimes mini-marshmallows. Can we get back to the alternate-universe stuff?"

Mom gasped. "We have mini-marshmallows?"

She began looking for them in the cabinets.

Raylee face palmed herself and shook her head. "Stupid idiot."

I was confused as to why she said that, but I was more confused by why my mom was acting this way.

"Mom, I've got an evil double who makes cryptids go psycho, it snowed in my bedroom, and I'm pretty sure I saw a door melt," I complained.

She stopped looking for the marshmallows and sat down in the chair next to me. "Sweetie, there's a simple explanation for all of it. Zak Monday is the anti-you. Matter and anti-matter can't coexist. Bring the two of you together, and the fabric of the universe starts to come undone."

"Solids turn to liquid, reverse gravity," I agreed.

"And worse. That's why I locked up mister Monday in the farthest hole until we can get him back through the mirror. It's all simple, partical physics."

"Wow. You figured that out fast."

"I'm a scientist. Is that a problem for you, smart guy?" she snapped.

I was taken by too much surprise to respond.

Then Mom laughed. "Kidding. Drink your cocoa."

She ruffled my hair.

I was completely confused now, because my mom has never "kid," or even yelled at me like that before. Then the last words that Zak Monday said to me were replaying in my head: _Do you think I'm the only one who came out of that mirror?_

"Umm, maybe I'll wait for the mini-marshmallows," I said.

I stood up from my seat and left the room. Zack followed me.

"Well, that was weird," he said.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"So what are you gonna do now?"

"I'm going to go talk to my dad."

"Ok."

We headed to the infirmary. Sarah was still unconscious as well as my dad. Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon were awake, but the animals were no where to be seen.

I walked over to my dad's bedside. "I don't know if you can understand any of this, Dad, but I'm sorry. I wish I never touched that mirror. And now you're hurt and Mom, well . . . I don't even know if she is Mom."

Fiskerton asked me why.

"I don't know, Fisk," I said. "That's what I'm saying. Maybe Zak Monday is just a huge liar, but Mom's been acting really weird. Dad would know, but now I can't even ask him."

Dad mumbled something.

"Dad?" I asked.

He mumbled again.

"Ba coffee?"

"Bad . . . copy. Bad copy. Bad—bad copy."

"Bad copy? Zak Monday? Yeah, but, I told you, we took care of him."

"Bad copy. Bad copy."

"What are you trying to say? Is there another—"

"Medicine time," I heard Mom say. She entered the infirmary holding a tray with medicine on it. "Let's go boys. Daddy needs his treatment."

I had to keep her away from him.

"Hey, um, maybe . . . I can stay and watch?" I asked.

"What for, baby boy?" she asked, which only confirmed my suspicions even more.

"Well, you guys always want me to learn the medical stuff, right? You never know whose life you could say."

"Oh, maybe tomorrow, sweetie. It's past your bed time."

"I am so awake right now."

"Trouble sleeping? Maybe you need some medicine too."

I knew I had to act now. "Bad copy."

I grabbed the claw and used the cable to it to knock the tray out of her hands. She dropped it, and she stepped on one of the vials she was carrying, causing her to trip and fall.

"Fisk, get Dad," I said. "We gotta go now."

He did as I told him (with a little bump in the butt from Komodo).

I ran to Sarah's bed, picked her up, and we all left the infirmary.

"Get back here now!" my bad copy mom called after us.

I led the rest of us outside, but in order to get to the ground, we had to slide down a cable connecting the airship to the ground. Fiskerton went first, holding on to Dad and Zon. Zack went next, taking Komodo, and I went last, holding on to Sarah tightly.

"Come on," I said once we got to the ground. "We can lose her in the ruins and give us a chance to think."

So we ran and hid. After a while, I ran out of breath.

"Give me a second here, guys," I said. "I've just gotta find us a place to hide while we figure out what to do about Mom." I face palmed myself. "Fake Mom. The mom poster. Monday Mom."

"Bad . . . copy," Dad offered.

"Yeah, that one."

"Zak? Zak, are you in here?" I heard my bad copy mom call. "Zak, I know you must be scared. Just speak up so I can find you."

Yeah, like that's gonna happen. That's why I ran away from you so that I can just call you back to me.

We continued on moving farther away from the direction from where her voice came from.

"Ok, we're good," I said. "That one sounded farther away than—"

Spoke too soon. I bumped right into her.

"Zak," she said, sounding really happy to see me.

"Get back," I told her while stepping back from her. "You're not my mom."

Fiskerton growled and Zack set fire to his hands.

"Zak, calm down," she said while continuously moving toward me. "I know I have a double. I saw her come out of the smoke mirror with your double ganger, but I—"

I set Sarah down so I was holding her up against me with one arm while I grabbed the claw with my other hand, extended it, and held it to Bad Copy Mom's face. "Don't move."

"Wow," she said. "Good technique. Kind of wish I hadn't shown it to you. Here, I'll move slowly."

I wasn't taking any chances, but I let her go on.

"I ran into trouble getting this." She pulled out something from behind her back and laid it on the ground. It was covered in a cloth. She removed part of it to show me what was under it.

"The smoke mirror?" I asked, surprised.

"We can send them back. But, if the mirror works like I think it does, we need both versions of ourselves together to make the portal activate."

"Wait. I thought bringing matter and anti-matter together was a bad idea? Causes all kinds of—"

Suddenly everything around us started moving.

"That," I finished.

"Careful," Mom said. "She must be close."

A burst of blue fire came out of nowhere and blasted her, knocking her a few feet back and knocking her unconscious.

"Mom!" I called. "Or . . . whoever."

I turned toward where that blast came from and saw my mom (or anti-mom) with her fire sword in her hand.

She ran up to me. "Zak! I was so worried. About all of you."

Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon growled at her.

"Guys, guys, I know what you've seen and I'm sorry I couldn't help you sooner," she told them. "I lost you when the temple collapsed, and then I couldn't find—the smoke mirror!" She noticed it lying on the ground. "Zak, we can put her back in."

Zack seemed just as confused as I was.

"Mom—or not Mom," I groaned. "I don't know and, right now, I don't care. I've gotta check on Mom. Uh, other Mom." I sighed. "Next time, name tags."

I ran to the other Mom's side, laying Sarah down on the ground in the process. She groaned.

"You don't want to wait until she wakes up, Zak," my (anti?) mom said. "We have to send her back now."

The other Mom woke up and sat bolt upright. "Zak, don't trust her. Whatever she said, she's lying."

"Don't you open your mouth again," my . . . mom said, getting ready to blast her again with her fire sword.

I knocked it out of her hand with the claw.

"Just stop it. Both of you." I looked at my pets. "Aren't animals supposed to be able to smell fakes?"

"Mine can," Zack said. "I wonder where they are."

He wasn't being very helpful, so I walked to my dad, whom Fiskerton was still carrying.

"Dad, if you're in there at all, I really need your help right now," I said. "You know Mom better than all of us. I need you, Dad. Anything."

There was a moment of silence.

"Bad copy, bad copy, bad copy, bad copy, bad copy," he said really fast.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know." Then I realized something. "Wait. You are trying to help. Zak Monday isn't an exact double of me. His hair is different. So maybe Drew Monday isn't a perfect clone either." I walked back to my mom and anti-mom. "A bad copy."

"It's a good idea," one of them agreed. "The hair looks the same on her, but something else. Have her take her gloves off. Maybe extra fingers, or—"

"Oh, enough," my other mom said.

She grabbed the claw out of my hand and slingshot it at the other one. Then something weird happened.

She grabbed onto the claw, but not with her hands. Her tongue stretched out impossibly long and wrapped around it. We all were shocked.

I guess now we know which one was my real mom.

"Oops," Drew Monday said.

She grabbed my arm, but Mom tackled her, landing on top of her.

"How did you know she could do that?" I asked her.

"I didn't," she said. "I just wanted to hit her in the face. Now come on, let's send her back through the—"

Suddenly Fiskerton grabbed her and pulled her away.

"Fisk, what are you doing?" I asked him.

Then my dad, who was standing now, picked me up by the back of my shirt.

"Bad copy," he said.

"Dad, it's me," I told him. "The real me."

Then all of a sudden debris started falling on us and I had a déjà vu moment from back in the temple.

"Ah, this can't be good," I said.

"Hey, it's family bonding time," someone said, and I recognized it.

I mean, it was my voice after all. Zak Monday. I looked toward him. He was standing next to Drew Monday, but then I noticed my real dad, Fiskerton, Komodo, Zon, Zack, Raylee, Pikachu, and the animals all tied up and gagged, and the Hollingers, except Zack's clone, standing behind them.

But then that must mean that my dad, my pets, and Zack's clone were . . .

"You couldn't have shown up _before_ she started hitting me?" Drew Monday asked Zak Monday.

"Could've," he admitted. "But I like watching things get hurt."

"All copies," Mom said. "The whole time."

"A whole family of Mondays," I said.

"Bad copy, bad copy, bad copy, bad copy, bad copy," Doc Monday said.

Is that all he says?

"By the way, genius," Zak Monday said to me. "Pops wasn't saying 'bad copy' _to_ you. He was saying it _about_ you. Your cheap, weak copies. And we're sending you all into the shredder."

All the doubles that had bandages on began removing them all, revealing their differences. Fiskerton Monday had horns like a devil instead of ears. Zon Monday had eyes on her wings. Doc Monday had an eye patch. Komodo had a black spot on his back. Zack's double had different kinds of tattoos all over his left arm. Raylee and Sarah's both had blond hair. Pikachu's tail looked like a sword instead of a lightning bolt, and the animals, well, Shillow's fur was all black instead of white, and some of the cheetahs had different patterned spots or stripes while the others had none at all.

"Are you disturbed yet?" Komodo Monday asked us.

Very. And not just because he can talk, unlike my Komodo, but for many other reasons as well.

* * *

The Mondays tied me, my mom, and Sarah (even though she was still unconscious) up. Then they took all of us to the center of the ruins and aligned us on the ground.

"I knew if the brat got scared enough, he'd find mommy for us," Drew Monday said.

"Excuse me, Drew," Komodo Monday said. "Nobody cares how clever you are. Just get the mirror ready before this place is torn apart."

"I swear, once they're gone, I'm turning you into a purse."

"I can't believe you guys haven't realized who we are already," Raylee's double said.

"What do you mean?" Raylee asked.

"You and I have known each other for almost eighty years, Raylee."

She thought about it for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Oh my God. Darleen?"

Her other self smiled evilly.

Raylee turned her head toward Sarah and Zack's clones. "Danielle? Daniel?"

"Guilty as charged," Sarah's double said, whose name, I assume, was Danielle.

"Why didn't we realize it was them before?" Zack asked his mom.

"Because you guys underestimate how stupid you are," Daniel said, answering for her.

"Yeah," Darleen agreed. "Did you guys really think that we came out of that mirror with them?"

"Well, at first, no," Raylee replied. "But, when we saw the Mondays, we thought maybe you did."

"Well, you thought wrong," Danielle said. "You already have clones. Us. There's no reason for you to have more because for your information, if you get other clones, they won't just be your enemies, they'll be ours as well. And you guys are enough of a pain in the ass as it is."

"The only one of your clones that came out of that mirror are Shillow, Pikachu, and the cheetahs since they don't already have their own clones," Daniel said. "Until now."

"We haven't given them names yet, but we'll think of some soon," Darleen said. Then she looked directly at Raylee. "Oh, but you'll probably never know what they are. Too bad your knight-and-shining-armor isn't here to save you like he has so many times before."

Raylee sighed. "Do you have to say that every single damn time we have an encounter with each other?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I know how much it hurts you, knowing that you now only have Cj to rely on instead of him."

"I don't rely on Cj at all," Raylee said.

"I really pity you."

Raylee became even more angry. "Stop saying that! And stop making me insult Cj like that."

"I only do that because I want to remind you that you and I both know that Cj is nothing compared to him."

"Of course he's not! No guy on this damn planet is, or ever will be, anything compared to him."

"Anything compared to who?" Zack asked.

Raylee blushed. "Nobody."

"Oooo. Momma's gotta a deep dark secret," Darleen said. "Oh, wait. I already knew that, because I'm you after all."

"Would you just shut the fuck up already before I make you?" Raylee threatened.

"How are you going to make me shut up? You're all tied up."

"Well, I could—"

Before she could finish, Sarah began to stir.

"Danielle?" Darleen asked.

She seemed to understand and unsheathed her sword. Then she walked up to Sarah and held the tip of her blade to her face. Sarah opened her eyes, blinking a few times to clear her vision, and was surprised to find a sword held to her face.

"Get up," Danielle commanded.

"Oh, please tell me that this is just a dream," Sarah said.

"Fortunately for us, no. Now get up."

She did as she was told, but it was really hard for her since she had her hands tied behind her back. She was between me and my mom, so she kept bumping into us both, but eventually she was able to get herself into a sitting position. She looked at her surroundings.

"Are you sure this isn't a dream?" she asked, noticing the Mondays. "Because it looks more like a nightmare."

"Oh, it's real," Danielle said. "And it's about to get worse for all of you." She sheathed her sword. "Hello, Sarah. It's been a while."

"Not a long enough while," she muttered.

"Yes, well, I can see why you like Zak so much."

She walked over to Zak Monday and gave him a kiss on the mouth. They started having a make out session, which was too much for me and Sarah to watch.

"I knew you were an evil bitch, but I didn't know you were an evil slut as well," Sarah gagged.

"Well, if you're not, I am," Danielle said. "And besides, you know how hard it is to resist him."

"Why thank you, Danielle," Zak Monday said.

"You're welcome."

"It's no longer that hard to resist him," Sarah muttered.

That was hurtful, but I knew what she meant.

"Danielle," Darleen said. "Can you please stop embarrassing them so that we can get rid of them already?"

She sighed. "Fine. Proceed."

"Thank you," Komodo Monday said, then turned to the rest of us. "Goodbye, Saturdays. Please enjoy our world."

"Yeah," Drew Monday agreed. "I hope you like darkness and smoke. On the plus side, you'll get lots of good combat training."

"They don't like us very much there," Zak Monday added.

"Gee, I can't imagine why," Raylee said.

"On the minus side, no hot chocolate," Drew Monday said.

"Don't think I forgot about you," Zak Monday said, and walked over to me, holding the claw in his hand. "You hurt me, and since we're doubled, I guess that means I have to hurt you."

"What are you gonna do to him?" Sarah asked.

"Well, I was thinking of—"

He got interrupted when, all of a sudden, a big fire ball came out of no where and hit him, and half of the Mondays and anti-Hollingers. Zak Monday dropped the claw and Drew Monday dropped the smoke mirror.

The claw had landed in front of me. The others were too distracted by where the fire ball came from so I took my chance to break free. I did a backwards roll and slipped my arms out from behind my back so that now they were in front of me, and I used the bottom of the claw to cut the ropes from around my wrists.

I noticed Drew Monday was trying to pick up the mirror. I picked up the claw, and slingshot it over to the mirror. It grabbed onto it and pulled it back to me.

"I warned you never to mess with my family again," I said.

I cut the ropes from around my family and Sarah and her family. After I was finished, we all began to fight our doubles, except me since I had the mirror. I had to stay away from them until I could seal them all back through it.

Komodo Monday came toward me. I backed away, but then fell into some mud.

"Careful, Zak," Dad said while fighting off his clone. "If the portal gets broken, we never be able to send them back to their own dimension."

Yeah, like I didn't already know that.

I tried to move through the mud, but then it became solid rock, like cement.

"Just throw it to me, Zak," Mom called to me from about ten feet away. "Hurry!"

I threw it to her, but just before she caught it, her double used her tongue and snatched it away from her. She turned the mirror on me. Mom tried to stop her, but like me, she fell into the mud.

"You do not know how nice it is not to have to pretend to care about you anymore," Drew Monday told me. "Ba-bye."

The portal activated, and I felt myself being pulled through it. I tried to move away, but it was no use. Then, suddenly, a big statue came out of no where and slammed into her, sending the mirror airborne.

I couldn't help but watch as it fell to the ground. It surprisingly had a soft landing onto some feathers.

Doc Monday picked it up and licked it for some reason. "Shiny."

The rest of the Mondays gathered around him.

"Give me that thing, dead weight," Zak Monday said, and snatched it out of his hands.

"Don't touch it," Drew Monday said, and grabbed it from him. "Nobody touches it but me."

"Since when? What are you up to? Trying to stab the rest of us in the back and get this world all to yourself?"

"Me? Who told the Braturday I wasn't his mommy? You sold me out."

"Oh, that's how it's gonna be, huh?"

They began having a tug of war for the mirror.

"Oh, this is not gonna end well," Darleen said.

She and her family backed far away from the Mondays.

I began to walk toward them, but my dad stopped me.

"I don't think you wanna get in the middle of family time," he said.

Since the anti-Hollingers didn't want to, he was probably right.

We all gathered behind a big pile of rocks and continued to watch Zak and Drew Monday fight for the mirror. Zak won it.

"You losers don't deserve this world," he told them, then held up the mirror toward them, its portal activating.

They were next to the Aztec Temple and it suddenly began to collapse.

Zak seemed to know what that meant. "No, not me. Just them."

The temple turned to rubble, but before it could fall on them, the mirror sucked them all in and the Mondays were gone. After the debris settled, we saw the mirror in pieces and walked over to it. We could still hear them arguing with each other.

"I call no family arguments ever again," I said.

"Absolutely," Dad agreed.

"Done," Mom said, also agreeing.

"What a bunch of idiots," Darleen said.

It took me a moment to realize that she was referring to the Mondays and not us. But she might have meant us as well.

She and her family were standing about fifty feet away from us

"So, what do we do now?" Danielle asked her mom.

"I guess we'll go home," she replied.

"Who do you think summoned that fireball?" Daniel asked.

"You know who. But they probably don't." Darleen turned our way, looking straight at Raylee. "Especially you."

"Who was it?" she asked.

"You'll find out some day. We'll see each other again soon."

"We always do."

They activated their powers, and they were gone.

"Great," Amber said sarcastically. "Now we have our own clones to deal with."

"Yes, unfortunately, you do," Raylee said.

"Ok," Sarah said. "Now that that's over with, can someone please tell me what the hell just happened here?"

We all laughed.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

On our way back to the airship, everyone explained to me about the Mondays, how they came through the smoke mirror, and I was jealous that I missed most of it because I was unconscious and woke up at the worst part. And after we got back and were heading home, I pulled Zak into one of the bedrooms.

Me and him had been acting awkward around each other since that little scene with Danielle and Zak Monday. That was disturbing.

"Zak, we need to talk," I said.

"Ok," he replied. "About what?"

"Well, you and I have been acting odd since we got back on the airship, and I know why."

"So do I."

"Right. Can we please not let that ruin our relationship?"

"I don't want it to." He walked closer to me.

"Neither do I."

"Do you think that's what we really look like when we kiss?"

"I don't know. Maybe. But right now, I don't care."

"I don't either."

He wrapped his arms around me, pulled me close, and kissed me. But we were interrupted when my twin brother, Zack, entered the room.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized when he saw the two of us.

"It's ok," I said, pulling away from Zak while blushing. "Do you need something?"

"Actually, yes. I need to talk to you."

"Ok."

"I'll leave you two alone," Zak said, then left the room.

I turned back to Zack. "So what do you need to talk to me about?"

He suddenly turned serious. "I think Mom's having an affair."

* * *

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter. It ended with a little cliff hanger. What do you think about it?**

 **This episode came out before the next one, but they later changed the order and had the next one air before this one because they thought that Black Monday was the best way to start the season again, but then changed their minds. I disagree with it, and that's why I posted this one first before the next one.**

 **Please review.**


	19. Something That I Hope is Not True

**Sarah's POV**

"What?" I asked in surprise by what Zack just told me.

"I think Mom's having an affair," he repeated.

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, earlier, Darleen was reminding Mom how Dad is nothing compared to 'him'."

"Who's him?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. She never said his name, and when I asked Mom, she blushed, but didn't answer. Then after that I did some investigating in Mom's things and found this."

He held up a picture of Mom with a guy I've never seen before. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes, and he was well-built. He probably worked out once in a while.

In the photo, he was standing behind Mom with his arms wrapped around her, and they were leaning against a tree in a forest I've never seen either. It was probably autumn there, because the leaves were all orange and red. They both were smiling like they were the happiest couple alive.

I've seen pictures of my mom and dad together, and they were smiling too, but not quite like my mom was with this guy in the photo. I didn't want to think too much about it until I actually saw proof. I knew the photo kind of was proof, but my mom is a hundred years old and doesn't look a day past twenty, so a photo is practically useless in this situation..

"Where did you find that?" I asked Zack.

"In Mom's bag where she keeps all her Poké balls," he replied.

"How did you get that?"

"I just told Mom that I needed one of her Pokémon and came up with an excuse of why."

"Ok. But, Zack, you do know that Mom is a hundred years old, right? She's looked the same she has since she was twenty. This guy could be an old boyfriend of hers."

"Maybe, but it's not Dad. Why would she keep an old photo of her with some other guy than the one she's married to?"

"Probably because she misses him. She even told me about a guy that taught her how to use her powers. She never said that they dated, but when I asked her about him, she had a pained look on her face."

"It could be a different guy, Sarah. Did she even tell you his name, or what happened to him?"

"Well, no."

"Then you're not changing my mind about this."

"Zack, don't jump to conclusions about this. Mom isn't like that and you know it."

"I may think I know her, Sarah, but I don't. Just because you honestly think that you know someone isn't capable of doing something like that, doesn't mean they aren't."

"Didn't Mom tell you that?"

"Well, yeah."

"So you're gonna use it against her?"

He hesitated.

"Zack, this picture isn't any kind of proof that Mom is having an affair since it doesn't have a date of when it was taken on it," I said. "So don't accuse Mom of having one unless you actually see proof that she is. Why don't you just ask her about the guy in the photo?"

"I don't think she'll be honest with me," he said. "How about you ask her?"

"No. You're the one that found it and are accusing her of cheating on Dad, so you do it."

"I will if I find more proof, but do you think she is?"

"I know she's not like that, so no."

"Not even with everything that's going on right now between you and Dad?"

I considered it before answering. "Maybe."

"Well, at least you said that. But how about we just keep this between ourselves and you don't tell anybody, not even Mom."

"Fine. And you let me know if you do find more proof."

"I will."

"Good. Now you better return that photo before she notices it's missing."

"Not until she does realize it's gone."

"Zack—"

"Sarah," he interrupted. "I just wanna make sure for Dad's sake, and ours, and Emily's."

I sighed. "Fine."

"Good night."

"'Night."

He left the room.

I just couldn't imagine my mom doing something like that to Dad. But with what's been going on between them lately, I just don't know. And I hate that I don't know.

* * *

 **Yeah, this was a really short chapter. But I wanted to write one that focused a little bit on this, because it's important. At least, it will become important eventually. What do you think about it? Do you think Raylee's having an affair, or is Sarah right that the man in the picture is someone from her mother's past? The next chapter will be a lot longer.**

 **Please review.**


	20. Eterno

**Zak's POV**

Ok, well, right now, me, my mom, Fiskerton, Komodo, Sarah, and Zack are going to meet the Haci somewhere in Africa, because most of the water in the Middle East has dried up and we're trying to figure out why.

Mom was driving the DRV through the desert and me, Sarah, Zack, Fiskerton, and Komodo were in the car with her. We were currently talking to Dad on the video phone, who was at home, having a meeting about the water with the Secret Scientists.

That's actually one of the reasons why Sarah and Zack are with us and their mom and pets went home for the day: They don't like the Secret Scientists. Not because they're scientists. They just annoy them. A lot.

"Shouldn't you be paying attention to your driving?" Dad asked Mom, who wasn't really, probably because we were in the desert.

How many other cars would there be in the desert?

"Don't worry, Dad," I assured him. "She's got back up on this mission."

"Now, Zak, you know you're not really on this—" He faltered, then looked at Mom. "You haven't told him?"

"I, well, the timing hasn't been . . . no," she replied.

"Wait," I said. "Tell me what?"

"Zak, honey, your father and I feel you've gotta a little, well, reckless."

"What?"

"Breaking into the cortex disruptors, stowing away, going off plan," Dad said, giving examples.

"Off plan?" I asked. "Is this still about Uncle Doyle's bad influence?"

"Yeah?" Sarah agreed. "I mean, he's your brother, Drew, and you're sometimes as reckless as he is."

Mom glared at her through the rearview mirror. Then she turned back to me. "It's about a lot of things, Zak. We're afraid we're giving you too much leeway, tried to make you grow up too fast. You're still a child."

"So that means I'm useless?" I asked.

"It means your mother and I are running the show for now," Dad replied. "And you, well, you're in the audience for a little while."

"The audience?"

Mom had the car jump over a sand dune and we landed hard.

"Zak, I'm sorry, but I cannot have this conversation right now," she said. "Doc, we're in their territory. I'll call you back when I've got something. Kisses."

The video call ended.

I was mad, and also confused.

"If I don't get to be part of the mission, why am I even here?" I asked Mom.

"It's a good cultural experience," she replied.

 _If you say so_ , I thought, but didn't say.

Then we were attacked. Not literally this time. But about four or five cars, each half the size of ours, surrounded us.

We entered into a village. Mom stopped the car and got out. The guys in the other cars that surrounded us got out of their cars as well, and Mom started talking to them, telling them why we were here. They understood and let us by.

The rest of us got out of the car. Then a man approached us. Maboul, who I assumed was the leader of this village, because he looked like he was.

"I apologize for our enthusiastic greeting," he said. "But we Haci have been on high alert since this crisis began."

"With good reason, my friend," Mom said. "It's why I came to see you. No one knows water like the Haci, and I need your counsel."

"Of course. But only over tea."

He clapped his hands and two of his men, who were standing between the opening to a large tent about ten feet away, opened it by pulling away the drapes. The man gestured for Mom to enter it and she went.

We tried to follow, but the man stopped us.

"I apologize, young ones," he told us. "But the Haci do not allow children in our private discussions."

"Children?" I asked.

"Zak," Mom told me in a stern voice. "I'll find you if I need you."

Then they proceeded toward the tent.

Sarah and Zack didn't look any happier than I was.

I sighed. "Fine."

I looked around and noticed our car. I smiled mischievously.

"And no driving the DRV," Mom said, appearing behind me.

I frowned and handed her the keys. She took them and went inside the tent.

"Why did you have the keys?" Sarah asked me. "Your mom was driving."

"I saw that she didn't take them out of the ignition, so I did," I replied.

"Ok."

"So what are we gonna do while we wait?" Zack asked.

"Well, we're in the open desert with no supervision," I said. "I guarantee I'll find us some fun in five seconds or less."

Fiskerton started counting down with his fingers. I looked around and noticed a tall cliff and I had an idea.

"Hey, Sarah, Zack, can you two summon us a couple sleds that we can ride on sand?" I asked them.

They both looked in the direction I was looking and realized what I wanted them for.

They nodded. "No problem."

They activated their powers and two sleds appeared.

We climbed the cliff. Once we got to the top, we decided to race each other in teams. Sarah and Zack teamed up together (no surprise there), and I teamed up with Fiskerton and Komodo. They handed me one of the sleds, and we all got ready.

"On the count of five we go," I said. "Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . launch!"

We sledded down the cliff.

We were ahead, but Sarah and Zack were catching up, and, were now, in the lead. I knew we were gonna lose. Then I happened to look over at our DRV and noticed a girl jumping out of it.

"Hey!" I called. "Fisk, big left."

He did as I told him and turned us left, almost hitting Sarah and Zack in the process, but he missed them and they followed us.

The girl noticed us and ran, but we were faster. We caught up to her. I tried to grab her, but she suddenly stopped and we went past her, going down the cliff ahead of us. A few feet down, me and Fisk grabbed onto the side of the cliff, and Fisk also grabbed Komodo.

"Hello?" the girl called from the top of the cliff. "Are—are you alright?"

We climbed back up and Fiskerton picked her up by her foot.

"Fine, thanks," I said.

Sarah and Zack had stopped their sled before reaching the cliff.

"I—I didn't mean to," the girl said after Fisk put her back down.

Fiskerton and Komodo growled at her.

"Relax, relax," I told her. "Just give us back what you stole and we'll call it even."

"Stole?" she asked. "You must be mistaken. I didn't take your, uh, this."

She held out my video phone to me.

I took it. "It's an MVP."

She stared at me.

"Mobile Video Phone. Why would you steal something if you don't know what it is?"

"I see it, I like it, I take it. Why is this complicated for you?"

I noticed she had the claw in her hand. I hadn't realized I left it in the car until now. I took it and hang it on my belt.

I looked back at her and noticed she had my video phone in her hand again and in her other hand she held up my belt. Then my pants fell down, revealing my underwear.

"Hey, stop it!" I complained.

Sarah and Zack diverted their eyes from me.

"Why is it always hearts?" Sarah asked.

"I know," Zack agreed.

I pulled my pants back up quickly. The girl began walking away.

"Komodo," I said.

He moved in front of her, licked his lips in anticipation, and drooled.

I walked up to them and grabbed my video phone out of her hand. "Whoa, whoa. I didn't say eat her."

He looked disappointed and also seemed to be telling me to make up my mind. I also grabbed my belt and put it back on.

"Look, nobody's gonna hurt you," I told the girl. "We're just killing time while my mom talks to your people about this dried up water thing."

"What?" she asked. "But why would I—I mean, any of my people have done this very bad thing?"

She asked that in a very odd way, like she was hiding something, and the rest of us were suspicious about it.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us?" I asked her.

"Why—why would you think—" she stammered.

"The dragon is still very hungry."

Komodo looked at her tastily.

She signed. "Follow me."

And that we did.

She led us to a lake while she was telling us about a salt crystal she found that caused all the water in the Middle East to dry up and she showed us the crystal.

"I put the crystal in the water right here."

"Wow. I really expected a better story than that," I said.

"You don't believe me?"

"No. Why would I believe that a little girl and her magic crystal turned half of the water in the Middle East into salt?"

"I didn't say I did that. I put the crystal in the water, the sea started turning to salt, and then the salt man broke out and he—"

"Wait, wait," I interrupted. "Now there's a salt man? I take back what I said about the story. So what happened next? He _a-salted_ you?"

Fiskerton gave me a high-five.

Sarah glared at me. "Zak, stop that. She's telling the truth."

"How do you know?"

"My powers told me, and they don't lie."

"Yeah, same with mine," Zack agreed.

"It's ok," the girl said. "He's no different from my father. He wouldn't believe me either, just because I am a child."

Sarah looked at me like she knew that I knew what it felt like to be treated like that by an adult. And I did.

I turned back to the girl. "Look, um, Thief Girl—"

"Wadi," she corrected.

"Wadi. I'm Zak. This is Sarah, whose brother's name is also Zack. And this is Fiskerton and Komodo. So, where did you say you found this crystal?"

She led us to a small cave near the lake.

"The crystal was right there," she said, pointing to a spot on the ground that had a little pile of salt.

"Well, it does look like salt," I admitted.

Fiskerton wiped some of it up with his finger and put it in his mouth. He didn't seem to like it very much.

"You see? I am a thief, not a liar," Wadi said.

Komodo pulled at my pants.

"What is it, Komodo?" I asked him.

He led us further into the cave and showed us a rolled up scroll lying on the ground.

"Whoa. Nice find."

I picked it up and unraveled it. There were inscriptions and words written on it, but in a language I couldn't understand.

"Can you read this?" I asked Wadi.

"Yes," she replied. "It is very close to the language of the Haci. It speaks of a warrior king from an age long past. His thirst for power could not be quenched by conquering nations. He knew that only water equals power, and so he sought the greatest power of all: the Methuselah Tree. A plant whose soap is said to be the fountain of all water on earth. As the warrior king sailed across the Dead Sea, the protectors of the tree caused a violent earthquake, entombing him in the salty sea bed where his body would be kept alive by the salt forever. His undying thirst and eternal reminder of the price of greed."

"So you think this warrior king is what you saw rise from the sea?" I asked her.

"Ab-salt-olutely," she replied.

Sarah and Zack laughed at her response.

"Nice try," I said. "Come on. Let's get that scroll back to your camp."

"Why?" Wadi asked.

"What, you don't wanna show everybody the huge important evidence that the _children_ found?"

"Uh, I don't think we can do that," Zack said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because something's wrong," Sarah replied.

They both were looking intently in the direction of the camp with worried looks on their faces.

 _Mom_ , I thought.

I didn't ask anymore questions and I ran toward the camp. The rest of them followed behind me.

When we got there, I noticed that everyone was turned to stone. No, not stone: salt.

"Mom," I called. "Mom!"

I looked around until I finally spotted her. She was also turned into salt stone.

"Mom, what—are you ok?" I asked. "Can you hear me?"

Wadi was looking at her father, who was standing next to my mom. Sarah and Zack looked almost as horrified as I was.

Fiskerton grabbed my sword out of its sheath from around my waist and began doing who-knows-what with it to Mom, trying to get her free.

"Fisk, careful," I told him.

He broke my sword, which at the moment I didn't care about, and he stumbled back, knocking into another statue.

"That one just moved," I noticed, then I walked up to it. "Are you alright? Can you speak?"

"Zak, no," Wadi warned. "The salt man."

The statue turned to face me, but it was different from all the others.

"I thirst. I burn," he said in a hoarse voice. "I am Eternal."

"And I don't care," I said. "Whatever you did to these people, you are gonna fix it right—"

"I drink, but still I burn," he interrupted, then slammed his hand down on a canteen of water and turned the water to salt, which surprised me. "Only the sap will satisfy. Where is the Methuselah Tree?"

"Maybe you didn't hear me the first time," I said, grabbing the claw. "But you still got people to fix, or else—"

Fiskerton, for some reason, came up behind the salt man and licked his head, which was so uncalled for and unnecessary. The salt man threw a punch down on me, but I dodged it, extended the claw, and broke his arm.

"Whoa," I said. "Did that just—"

He tried to punch me again with his other hand. I rolled to dodge, then broke his other arm with the claw. Fiskerton kicked him in the chest, he stumbled back, tripping over Komodo, who was invisible at the moment, and the salt man crashed against a boulder and crumbled to pieces.

"Hey," I said. "Nice team work."

"Uh, Zak?" Sarah said, gesturing to the pile of salt.

The salt man was reforming.

"Eternal," I repeated. "Now making sense."

I slingshot the claw at him and it went straight through his chest. He grabbed the cable and pulled me toward him. Komodo tripped him again and he fell to the ground again. Komodo became visible, which was a mistake. The salt man grabbed onto his tail and turned him into a salt statue just like the others.

"Komodo!" me and Sarah called.

The salt man continued to pull me toward him.

"Now . . . you," he said.

He was about to touch me and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Wadi came to my rescue.

"The river," she said. "I know where it is."

The salt man stopped for a moment and listened.

"Wadi, no!" I told her, but she didn't listen.

"I cannot tell you its location," she continued.

The salt man threatened to touch me.

"But I will make you a trade. If you let us go free, we will journey to the Mother River and bring the sap of the Methuselah Tree to you."

"You will return?" he asked.

"You can undo what you have done to our families?"

"Uh, yes."

"Then how could we not?"

He let us go. I retracted the claw and the five of us went to find the Methuselah Tree.

"Come on," I said. "We'll take the DRV." I stopped when I realized something. "Ah, Mom has the keys."

"Don't worry, Zak," Sarah assured me. "Me and my twin brother know how to hot-wire a car."

"You do?"

"It's not that hard," Zack said.

"Actually, do the keys look like this?" Wadi asked, holding up a set of keys that we needed.

"Aw," Zack groaned. "I was looking forward to hot-wiring it."

"Maybe you still can," Sarah said.

I was surprised by Wadi.

"How do you . . . ah, never mind," I said.

I tried to grab them, but she held them back. "The river does need to remain secret."

"Wadi, have you ever driven a car before?" Sarah asked her.

"No."

"Well, I have, so I'm driving."

She took the keys out of her hand.

"You don't know where the river is," Wadi protested.

"Actually, I do."

"Where is it?"

Sarah opened her mouth to respond, but closed it when she remember that I was there. She leaned in close to Wadi and whispered in her ear.

Wadi's eyes widened. "How did you know where the river is? The Haci are the only ones who know where it is."

"Not anymore," Sarah said. "My powers know everything, and they told me where it is. But don't worry. I won't tell anyone and neither will Zack. Now can we go?"

Wadi still looked surprised.

"You've driven a car before?" I asked Sarah.

She nodded. "Yeah, but it's a long story."

"It's not long," Zack disagreed.

She signed. "Fine. We have a video game at home that's about racing cars and our mom would transport us into the game sometimes so that we can learn how to drive. Now let's go."

She began walking toward the car, but Zack stopped her. She looked at him and he seemed to be mentally challenging her, which he probably was. Then they did rock-paper-scissors. Sarah had scissors and Zack had paper, so she won.

Zack frowned while Sarah smiled triumphantly.

"Best two out of three?" he asked her.

"No," she replied. "We're wasting time."

"I agree," I said.

We all climbed into the car.

"Oh, wait," Sarah said suddenly after she got into the driver's seat. She summoned a couple pieces of cloth to her hands and handed both of them to me and Fiskerton. "Cover your eyes."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"Just because me and Zack know where the tree is doesn't mean you two have to know too. Right, Wadi?"

She nodded. "Yes."

I sighed. "Fine."

I took one of the pieces of cloth and wrapped it around my head, and so did Fiskerton. I couldn't see through it.

Sarah turned on the ignition and we were on our way. We were going pretty fast, every once in a while going airborne and landing back down. Hard. Me and Fiskerton kept freaking out since we couldn't see where we were going.

"Oh my God," Sarah complained. "Would you guys please stop yelling? It's so annoying. Not my fault that the desert is so bumpy."

"Ok. But can you take it easy for a second?" I told her. "I gotta make a call."

"Ok, I'll try," she replied.

"Oh, and there's probably gonna be yelling."

"I'm sure there will be."

I grabbed my video phone and called my dad, which wasn't easy since I was blindfolded. He did start yelling after I told him what happened and where we were going.

"What?" he asked. "You couldn't have given us this information sooner? Zak, this is exactly the sort of recklessness your mother and I are trying to correct. Just stop and stay there."

Sarah chuckled. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen."

Dad ignored her and continued. "I can fly to you in less than—"

"Dad, will you listen to me?" I interrupted. "Yes, I'm sorry I didn't call right away, but this isn't me being reckless. I don't know how much time we have, and we're the ones who are here."

"Zak, if you're trying to prove some point . . ."

"Look, I don't care about proving points. Mom, Komodo, and a whole lot of other people are in serious trouble, and I just need you to trust me and help me."

Dad thought about it for a moment and sighed. "What do you need?"

"Everybody in that room, actually," I said.

The car suddenly slowed down and eventually stopped.

"We're here," Sarah said, turning off the engine.

"We have arrived at the entrance," Wadi said.

My blindfold suddenly disappeared off my face. We all got out of the car, and I was still on the video phone with my dad. I looked around and was confused. There was just barren desert all around us. Not even a cave was in sight.

"This entrance wouldn't happen to have a door?" I asked.

"Of course," Wadi replied. "It is opened by an ancient song."

"Ok, let's hear it."

"My people don't teach the song to children."

We stared at her in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?" Zack asked.

"I know," Sarah agreed. "They don't let children into their private conversations, but they let them know where the Methuselah Tree is and not teach them the song that they need in order to get to it."

"Yeah, how do you expect—do you think it would just come to you?" I asked in frustration.

"You said the Secret Scientists would help us," Wadi said defensively. "You made very big promises."

We continued to argue with each other.

"Hey, Spiky Locks," Dr. Beeman interrupted. "If you're done with lovey, kissy time, maybe I can tell you about the musical madual imprinted on that rock."

He gestured to a rock that was lying on the ground a few feet away from us and it had inscriptions on it.

"Huh," Zack said. "That's kind of like The Legend of Zelda."

"I was thinking the same thing," Sarah agreed.

"It's pattern is similar to the Verdonian Scale," Dr. Beeman continued. "I can get the notes, but I ain't singing."

"Oh, I don't think anyone wants to hear you sing," Sarah said. "But my powers can allow me to be able to read the inscriptions on the stone, so we don't need you to get us the notes."

"If you don't need my help, then why did you ask?"

Sarah glared at him. "I didn't. He did."

She turned to glare at me. Wow. She really hates him, doesn't she? But I could understand why.

"Let's focus on the song," Zack suggested.

"You're right," Sarah agreed.

She sat down in front of the stone and we sat next to her.

"Are you gonna sing it?" Zack asked her.

"No!" She said it like it was the last thing she ever wanted to do.

"Come on, Sarah."

"No, Zack. I'll play a tune, but I'm not gonna sing."

"Then who will? Because I won't."

Sarah looked at me and Wadi. We both shook our heads.

"Fiskerton?" she asked.

He nodded his head.

She summoned a pad of paper and pen to her hands and began writing the song. "You can read, right?"

Fisk looked offended.

"I was just asking."

She finished writing and handed him the paper. Fiskerton began singing. He sounded . . . weird, but good.

A vortex swirled to life directly below our feet and we fell into a cave. We hit the ground, then coughed and knocked the sand off ourselves.

"That's weird," Zack said.

I looked where he was looking and realized what he meant.

"So I knew stalactites grow down, and stalagmites grow up," I said. "But what are the called when they grow sideways?"

You heard me right, and it was all over a river.

"A gravity defying stalagmal matrix?" Dr. Cheechoo said through the video phone. "Oh, I heard it theorized, but I never thought I'd actually see one."

"Well, now you have," Sarah said.

"Zak, how strong is the current?" Dad asked.

Wadi checked. "It seems to be not too bad."

We heard a sound from above us. We looked up and noticed the DRV falling into the water, crashing against the stalac's and it blew up.

"Oops," Sarah said. "Looks like I owe your parents a new car, which isn't really a problem."

"It looks like the rocks have different mineral compositions," Dr. Cheechoo said, getting back on the subject. "Not all of them are stable."

"Can you find a safe path through the matrix?" Dad asked him.

"From tite to mite, I think so."

"Then get my son whatever he needs."

"Actually, I don't think we need it," Sarah said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because she wants to lead us through the path."

I was confused as to who "she" was. Then I looked where she was looking and noticed the little girl that me and Sarah have been seeing was standing on one of the sideways stalac's, gesturing for us to follow her.

"How did she . . ." I began.

"I have no idea," Sarah said.

"Oh, are you two seeing that girl again that we can't see?" Zack asked us.

We nodded.

"What girl?" Wadi asked.

"Well, about a couple weeks ago, me and Zak have been seeing this little girl that, apparently, no one else can see but us," Sarah explained. "And we don't know why that is."

"Ok." She obviously didn't want to ask anymore questions.

"She's guiding us to where we want to go," I said. "Let's follow her."

Me and Wadi climbed up on Fiskerton while Sarah and Zack went solo. The little girl somehow knew which stalacs were stable and which weren't. She led us through them to the other side, then she disappeared again.

"I really wish we knew who she was," Sarah said.

I nodded in agreement. The five of us continued up the river.

I noticed the salt man was following far behind us, but I decided not to say anything. A little while later, Wadi noticed him too.

"Zak, we seem to have a salt trail," she said.

"I know," I whispered. "He's been with us for a while now."

"You knew? Why didn't you—"

"Shhh. We can't risk a fight down here. If he touched the river, even accidentally, that crackly salt thingy he does would spread to all the water on earth. We've just gotta get to the Methuselah Tree and hope the sap works for him."

"Zak, what are you two whispering about?" Dad asked. I forgot we were still on the video phone with him. "Is something—"

"Uh-oh," Sarah said.

We turned around and saw that Fiskerton noticed the salt man too, and he moved toward him.

"Fisk, no!" I called, but he ignored me.

He grabbed onto the salt man's foot and tried to pull him down.

"Fisk, let go!" I tried again. "It's too dangerous!"

"Zak, what's happening?" Dad asked.

I ignored him and looked at the salt man. "What are you doing here? We had a deal."

"I need the sap," he replied. "I care for nothing else."

"Yeah, and that's why you became what you are," Sarah said.

Fiskerton pulled him down, right next to the river, and they began wrestling with each other. Eventually, the salt man touched the river and it began turning to salt. We were so surprised that I dropped my video phone.

"No," Wadi said. "The mother river."

"Come on," I said.

I grabbed her hand and we all jumped into the river and went up a geyser. The salt man didn't follow us. Once we were up, we got out of the water and onto the shore. There was a bright light. We looked to where it was coming from and saw the Methuselah Tree.

"It's beautiful," Wadi noted.

We all nodded in agreement. Then we noticed the salt continuing to expand.

"It's in trouble," I said. "Quick, we have to try to dam it up."

We all rushed to the base of the tree and began throwing large rocks into the water to keep the salt from reaching the tree. Then suddenly, rocks began to fall from the ceiling of the cave.

"What the—We didn't just do that," I said.

"No," Wadi agreed. "It was the tree's protectors. And if they know we're here, we are all doomed."

The protectors came out of the ground and attacked us.

"Guys, distract them," Sarah said. "I'll get the sap."

She sneaked around the protectors. They followed her, but Zack sent fireballs at them, getting their attention turned on us.

"Don't hurt them," Wadi said.

"Well, do you have a better idea on how to distract them?" he asked.

"I do," I said.

I grabbed the claw and activated my powers. I got control of the protectors, and they weren't really that hard to control.

"Sometimes I really like your powers," Zack said.

"I got the sap!" Sarah called from next to the tree, holding up a canteen.

"Alright," I said. "Let's go."

I climbed onto one of the protectors. Sarah and Zack climbed onto the same one with me and Wadi and Fiskerton climbing onto the other. I had the protectors go straight up through the ceiling of the cave.

Once we got through, I noticed the salt man and my dad. Apparently the Methuselah Tree was directly under the camp, because that's where we were right now.

"Zak," Dad called.

I turned away from him and turned toward the salt man. "I have the sap. We can still have a deal here."

He charged toward us. The protectors lurched back, knocking me and Sarah off its back and onto the ground. Sarah dropped the canteen and all the sap poured out of it.

"No!" the salt man said.

He ran to the canteen to see if there was anymore sap in it, but there wasn't.

"Zak! Zak!" I heard someone calling.

I noticed my dad's video phone lying on the ground a few feet away and went to pick it up. It was Dr. Pachacutec.

"Look at your mother's salt shell," she told me.

I did and noticed some of it peeled away from the sap that splashed onto it when it hit the ground.

"The sap breaks the bond," Dr. Pachacutec continued. "If you have more, we may be able to free everyone."

"But there is no more," I said. "It was all in that flask."

Suddenly the protectors began circling around Wadi.

"Wadi, what did you—"

I activated my powers again to get them under control again, but it wasn't working.

"Nothing," Wadi said. "I did not— Control the protectors again, please."

"I'm trying," I said. "But they're going nuts about something." Then it hit me. "What—what did you take, Wadi?"

She caved. "It was so beautiful. I had to have it."

The protectors were forming a vortex right below her feet. Dad and Fiskerton tried to stop them, but couldn't.

"Wadi, you need to give it up now," I told her. She was sinking into the vortex. "Recreate Eterno, and it'll ruin you too."

She listened to me. "Please. I'm sorry. Forgive me."

She grabbed something out of her sleeve and tossed it over them, landing right in front of me. It was some kind of flower.

They stopped the vortex. I picked up the flower. It was dripping sap. I knew what I needed to do, and my dad knew what I was going to do too.

"Zak, no!" Dad called, but I ignored him.

"I'm not a thief, and I don't care about your tree," I told the protectors, who were advancing on me. "But this flower's gonna save peoples lives, and you're not taking it until it does."

I rubbed a little bit of the sap onto a guy's hand, and the salt seemed to melt away. He was moving his fingers. The protectors tried to come at me, but suddenly they turned into salt statues, and the salt man appeared from between them. He walked up to me and snatched the flower out of my hand.

"Mine," he said.

"No!" I said.

Too late.

He started to dump all the sap from the flower onto him. "Now end this haste."

"No! Wait!" I tried to get the flower from him, and dad tried to help me, but we couldn't.

The salt man reduced to a pile of salt, and the now dried out flower landed on top of it.

"There's no man left beneath the salt," Dad said. Then he picked up the flower. "I'll have Dr. Pachacutec analyze the sap. If we can synthesize it, we should be able to reverse everything he did."

"Yeah," I said. "Almost everything."

I was looking down at the pile of salt that was all that was left of the salt man. Sarah rubbed my forearm comfortingly.

* * *

After Dr. Pachacutec had analyzed the sap, she broke the salt shells around everyone.

"That's the last of them," she said. "And the other scientists are already rehydrating the effected waters."

We nodded.

Then I turned toward Dad. "I can't believe you flew all the way out here and fought a salt guy just because I dropped a video phone." He told us that after we told Mom everything that had happened. "So tell me again how _I'm_ the reckless one."

"I guess it just runs in the family," he said. "But we're stronger with you. If you're ready to come back from the audience."

"Alright!" Fiskerton gave me a high-five.

Wadi and her dad were walking by us and she turned to face me.

"Good-bye, Zak Saturday," she said, waving to me, then continued walking.

"Yeah, I'll, uh, see you around," I replied. Then my pants fell down, revealing my underwear yet again. "Hey!"

Sarah laughed. "Here."

She handed me my belt.

"Did you take it?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. She took it. I just took it back. I can steal things the same way she does."

I smiled. "Thanks." I took my belt and pulled my pants back up.

"Hey, that's what girlfriends are for."

"You're right about that."

I pulled her in close and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Sarah giggled.

* * *

 **Well, this was a bit of a dull chapter. I think the good part was when the Mysterious Little Girl appeared again.**

 **For the next seven chapters, they're just going to be the next seven episodes because I couldn't come up with anything for them to do between them. But after that, the drama's going to start.**

 **Please review.**


	21. Cryptid vs Cryptid

**Zak's POV**

Getting Fiskerton something to eat was harder than I thought.

Me and Zack were in a small restaurant getting some food to go. The guy that was helping us with our order wasn't quite getting Fiskerton's order right.

"No, see, he doesn't want one of each," I told the guy. "He wants one quarter mango, one quarter apple, and half pistachio. He was very specific."

The guy sighed. "And all on the same plate?"

"Yes, but they can't touch. He hates it when the flavors mix."

"Of course. We can't have that." He began getting the order ready.

"I know he's picky, but—no, wait!" I stopped him when he started pouring some seasoning on the wrong flavor. "The ground carmon goes on the apple. Pistachio nuts on the pistachio. He was very—"

"Yes, very specific," the guy interrupted, getting irritated.

"And you say Fiskerton's picky," Zack muttered.

I ignored him. The guy began to pour the nuts on the pistachios, and I was telling him how much.

"Good, just a little more," I said. "More. More. Ok, too much. Can you, like, brush it off or something?"

"Maybe your brother would like to come make his own order," the guy said, now really irritated.

"No, really. He wanted me to—"

"I am being very specific."

I looked at Zack, unsure of what to do. He nodded.

I whistled for Fisk. He was standing just outside the little café, and entered it when he heard me. Everybody else here began freaking out when they saw him, even the guy that was helping us.

"Monster!" he cried.

"No, no," I assured him. "He's—"

"It wants to eat us," one of the other guys in the café interrupted.

"This isn't going to be good," Zack muttered.

He was right. Three men charged and jumped on Fisk.

"Get off my brother!" I said.

I grabbed the claw and slingshot it at them, getting them off of him.

Zack and I stood side by side with Fiskerton.

The guys in the café tipped the tables over, using them as shields, and charged at us once again. I used the claw, Fisk used his fist, and Zack his sword, and broke the tables in half, knocking the guys back.

The guy that was serving us jumped out from behind the counter, stabbed Fiskerton in the leg with something, causing him to drop to his knees while screaming in pain, then the guy threw pepper into his mouth. Fiskerton's eyes began to water, then his nose started twitching.

"Uh-oh," Zack and I said at the same time, then backed away to the side.

"What uh-oh?" the guy asked us. "What is uh-oh?"

In response to his question, Fiskerton sneezed a big gust of wind, literally, and blew the people and the furniture all over the place. Fiskerton acted like nothing just happened for a moment, then ate his food. He then gestured us to the cash register.

"Uh, Fisk?" I said. "I don't think our allowance is gonna cover this."

"You're probably right," Zack agreed.

I glared at him.

We all started cleaning the place up, but it wasn't going so good. Fiskerton was putting a fan back up, but it fell back down, landing on some guy's head.

"Mom and Dad are gonna believe we didn't start this, right?" I asked.

"They're not unreasonable," Zack said. "And we didn't start it. How much is it gonna cost to fix all of this?"

"More than you have," the guy that was helping us replied.

He glared at him. "You wanna bet?"

He gave him a price, then he grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket and opened it up. There was a lot of cash in it, and he was counting it all out.

"Whoa," I said. "Where did you get all that money?"

Zack hesitated a moment before answering. "Umm, my family is very rich."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My mom gets a really big salary for being the Protector of America. She saves most of it, and because of that, it also kind of makes us the richest family on the planet. Sarah and I have a good allowance and we save it up too. But anyway, I have enough here, so I'll pay it and we can get the hell out of here."

"Do not worry, my friend," a voice said.

A few feet away a man appeared out of no where and threw a wad of money onto the counter. "This will cover the damages."

"Um, not that we're not grateful, but did you just give away money?" I asked him.

"Ah, what I'm giving is an opportunity," he said, then walked up to us and looked at Fiskerton. "A creature who fights so well could make his master a great deal more money than that."

He handed me some kind of DVD case.

I took it and looked at it closely. "What do you mean?"

But when I looked up again, he was gone.

"Where'd he go?" I asked.

Zack shook his head. "I don't know. But how about we get back to the airship and find out what that is."

I nodded. "Ok."

We left the café and headed toward the airship. After we got back on, both of our families and us gathered in a room and we told them everything that happened. Then we showed them the DVD that the guy gave me, placed it in the VCR, and pressed PLAY.

It was showing cryptids fighting against each other inside a cage and people were watching them outside of it, cheering them on. None of us liked it at all.

"I'm gonna be sick," I said.

The animals agreed.

"It's barbaric," Mom said.

"He just gave you this and left?" Dad asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. Not even a business card."

"He didn't need one." He walked up to the screen and gestured to some numbers on the bottom corner of it. "GPS coordinates. I don't imagine this is the kind of business where you give your name and number."

"Not especially if it's illegal," Raylee agreed. "At least, in America it is. I'm not sure about other countries."

"Who would do something like this?" Mom asked.

I was still watching the video, then I noticed something, or someone, in the background.

"Wait, go back!" I said. I grabbed the remote off the table and rewinded the video, paused it, and zoomed it in. "That's who."

"Van Rook," Mom said.

"Nice eye," Dad told me.

"I know," Sarah said, sounding impressed.

"Ok, we've got a location and a bad guy," I said. "Let's go bust this up."

All of us were in agreement, except Dad.

"Hold on," he said.

"Hold on?" Mom asked. "Doc, he's making cryptids fight for money. What would we be "holding on" for?"

"This isn't how Van Rook operates. Yes, there's money to be made, but with the cost of capturing cryptids, caging them for fights? Somebody else is backing this."

"Argost," I said like it was obvious, which it kind of was.

"I don't know anyone else with that kind of money and access to cryptids," Dad agreed. "Other than me."

Fiskerton asked him if it was him doing this.

"No, of course not," Dad replied, sounding offended.

"How does this get Argost closer to finding Kur?" Mom asked. "I don't see it."

"Neither do I. But we need to find out. Maybe Fiskerton should accept that invitation."

We all were surprised by that.

"What?" Mom asked.

"No way," I said. "I'm not letting Fisk get beat up in some sick fighting contest just for a little information."

"Beat up?" Sarah asked. "Zak, do you think Fiskerton is weak?"

I stared at her in disbelief. "What? No, of course I don't think he's weak."

"Then why do you think he'll get beat up?"

"Because he's never really been forced to fight like that before."

"So you'll think he'll get beat up?"

"No."

"Then what?"

I hesitated. "I just don't want him to risk getting hurt for something as stupid as this."

"Zak, if you don't want Fiskerton to do this, I could do it instead," Amber offered.

"Yeah, I kind of figured one of you would volunteer," Raylee said.

"Hey, I could do it too," Kimbia said.

"Me too," Shillow said. "And my teeth are sharper than yours."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

Shillow and Kimbia were having a standstill with their backs hunched in a threatening way.

"Guys, stop it," Sarah told them. "Have any of you thought to consider what he might want to do?" Sarah turned toward him. "Fiskerton, do you want to do this and help us stop Argost?"

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

Sarah turned back to me. "See?"

I sighed. "Does he have to? Isn't there another way to get the information?"

"It's not just information, Zak," Dad said. "If it looks like we're on to him, we may even be able to flush Argost into the open. We catch him, and we end this whole thing."

"But Van Rook knows me and Fisk. You don't think he'd be suspicious if we try to sign up?"

"Actually, there might be a way," Mom said. "If we brought in the right help."

I didn't know who or what she was talking about, but Dad seemed to.

"No. Not a chance," he said. "Don't even mention his name."

"Well, he is her brother," Raylee said.

Her brother . . . Oh.

"Do you mean Uncle Doyle?" I asked.

Dad sighed, which answered my question.

"He can help, Doc," Mom said.

"Does he have to?" Raylee asked.

She and the rest of her family still didn't like him.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because, as you just mentioned, he's my brother."

"She's got a point there," Sarah said. "I mean, if I need help with something, most of the time, I would turn to my twin brother for help."

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "And vice versa for me."

That seemed to win everyone over.

Dad sighed. "Fine."

He turned around to face the screen and sent a call to Doyle.

He answered a few moments later. "You've got Doyle."

"And I'm thrilled," Dad replied sarcastically.

Sarah and her family laughed a little bit.

Doyle seemed to be a little busy with something, because there were sounds of something exploding in the background.

"Look who's come crawling back," he said.

"One mission," Dad said. "And if it weren't important . . ."

"Ah, Professor, you admit it's important. Now I know to ask for the big money."

"Hey, Doyle," I said, waving to him. Fiskerton did too.

"Mini-man and the gorilla," he said.

He turned away from the screen for about half a minute. We heard another thing explode and he appeared on the screen again.

"So what am I getting paid for?"

We told him what was happening and he seemed to be more than happy to oblige when we said that Van Rook was involved. So we told him the location of that place and we met him there. Then he took Fiskerton (we had to put a leash chain around his neck) inside after we gave him a communication device.

The rest of us were going to sneak into the building and keep a close eye on Van Rook. Doyle sent us a signal, letting us know that Fiskerton was in.

"The sooner we find out what Argost is up to, the sooner we get Fisk out of there," I said.

We all nodded in agreement.

"We'll meet you guys inside," Raylee said.

Then she teleported herself and her whole family.

"Cheaters," I muttered.

My family went separately. Komodo turned himself invisible. Zon flew. I used the claw. And my parents are doing or using who-knows-what. We all met up in the back of the building.

"No alarms," Dad said. "Let's get started."

"Not yet," I said. "I wanna know how Fisk is doing."

I asked Doyle through the communication device.

"He's . . . doin' great," he said. "I'll call you back."

He disconnected. Umm . . . ok.

"Alright," Dad said. "Let's get some reconnaissance. CP photos of everyone. Don't assume anything based on appearance. Argost has used disguises before."

"He's used neural parasites too," Mom added. "Could be controlling somebody remotely. Check the back of the neck."

"Could we just get moving?" I said. "The longer we leave Fisk in there, the more trouble he could be in."

"Actually, guys, I could just use my powers," Raylee suggested.

She closed her eyes and activated her powers, causing her hands to glow white. A couple minutes later, she opened her eyes again and her glowing white hands faded.

"Done," she said. "I had my powers take a picture of everyone here and transport them to your device so that you can look them up. Then I scanned them all, and nobody here has any neural parasites on them."

"Impressive, Raylee," Dad said.

"Oh, that's just the beginning of it."

"Come on," Sarah told me. "Let's watch Fisk while our parents look over those photos."

I didn't object. We headed to a ledge above the stands overlooking the whole place.

Fiskerton was in the cage, fighting with an Amarok, and knocked its head against the bars, knocking it out cold; then another cryptid with wings and ended with him really bending one of them. Fisk cheered and did a dance, showing off a little bit. Sarah and Zack laughed.

"Wow," Sarah said. "He is really enjoying himself, isn't he?"

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

I was glad that he was happy, but I wasn't sure how much longer he would stay that way.

"Anything yet?" Doyle asked over the communicator.

"Nothing helpful," Dad replied. "I've run the photos through every criminal data base I can find. But all I get is the kind of low level thug you'd expect at something like this."

"Still no Argost to Kur connection," Mom said.

"Then let's get Fisk out of there," I said. "He's been lucky so far, but he—"

Fiskerton disagreed with me.

"Yeah, he heard that one," Doyle said. "Listen, there's one more thing. Van Rook's been working on some kind of digital hand-held. That guy's the most detailed record keeper I know. If Argost really is behind this, Van Rook would have something on it in there."

"Can you get it from him?" Dad asked.

"Not alone."

"I'll help," Zack offered. "I'm pretty good at taking things without anybody knowing that it's gone."

"That's true," Sarah and Raylee agreed.

"Just distract him for me."

"I'm on it," Doyle said.

And they went off to get it, Zack turning himself invisible in the process, and Komodo went with him. A couple minutes later, they got it. He appeared back by me and Sarah.

"I'm gonna teleport this to you guys," he said to our parents through the communicator.

Then the device disappeared.

"We got it," Mom said.

"I'm in," Dad said. "The files are all scrambled."

"Figures. High-end encryption is the one thing he _will_ pay for. We can crack it, but it'll take time."

The crowd began to get really loud for some reason.

"Zak? Doyle? What's going on?" Dad asked.

I looked inside the cage where Fiskerton was and couldn't believe my eyes.

"The floor in the fight cage," I gasped. "It's opening."

Doyle tried to get Fiskerton out, but a couple men held him back. The floor opened up all the way and a big jungle cat appeared.

"What is that?" Sarah asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know. Get him out of there, Doyle."

"How much time do you need to crack the code?" he asked my parents.

"Five minutes," Dad replied.

Doyle held up five fingers to Fiskerton and he understood. Then Doyle pushed him toward the cryptid.

"No!" I cried.

The cryptid lunged at him. He dodged to his right and kept doing it over and over again. I still didn't like it.

"Guys, we've already got Van Rook's hand-held," I said. "Get Fisk out of there."

"We can't," Doyle replied. "The second Van Rook realizes we got it, he'll stick every thug in this temple on us."

"Zak," Mom said. "I promise we will shut this place down and send everyone of these psychopaths to prison just as soon as—"

"Argost," Dad interrupted. "Right there."

"We've got something."

"Just two more minutes and we'll have it all."

I didn't want to wait two more minutes, but I guess I had no choice. Fisk started fighting back.

"Come on, Fisk," I said. "Please just be ok."

Sarah placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I was glad to have her there with me.

Fisk climbed up a pillar and the cryptid jumped up after him. He did a backflip, landing on the ground, then jumped onto the cryptid's back, grabbing onto its main.

"Yeah!" I cheered.

I may have done that too soon, because just then the cryptid roared and another head formed behind the original one and an extra pair of legs on the back. Fisk was knocked to the ground, and the cryptid jumped on top of him.

"No," my voice broke.

It held him down by his paw and I knew he was done for.

"That's it," I snapped. "Get him out!"

Even Doyle agreed. "Drew, I gotta pull him."

"It's connected," she said.

"Almost cracked," Dad said. "Give us thirty seconds."

The cryptid threw Fisk across the cage. I couldn't take it any longer.

"He's not gonna last thirty seconds," I said. "We have to—Ahh!"

 _Pain_.

I clutched my head in pain.

"Zak!" Mom called.

"What's going on?" Dad asked.

"My powers. So intense," I said. "I feel . . . all of them." My powers activated all of a sudden and I couldn't control it. I felt them in control of every cryptid here. "It . . . hurts."

I grabbed the claw, slingshot it across the room, and swung myself, landing in the middle of the crowd, feeling my powers release a burst of energy.

"Zak!" Sarah called, but I could barely hear her.

"Everybody out!" I told everyone in the crowd.

Van Rook laughed. "Of course. If the little boy says so."

Everyone started laughing.

I turned and glared at him. "I wasn't talking to you."

The cryptids started breaking out of their cages, which scared the crowd into a panic and they began to run for their lives. There were some cryptids that couldn't break out of their cages, so I ran to help them. After letting out a couple, my parents, Sarah, and her family appeared next to me.

"Zak!" Mom said.

"Are you alright?" Dad asked.

"I'm fine," I insisted. My powers had deactivated. "Just help me get these cryptids out of here."

And that they did. After freeing every one of the cryptids in the cages, there was only one left: the big cryptid in the fight cage.

Sarah had already beaten me to it, but she was having a little hard time with it. She kept trying to approach it and it running from her.

"It's not safe here," I told the cryptid.

It roared at me.

I activated my powers. "Please. I'm not leaving any cryptids behind."

It agreed to come with us and Sarah and I led it outside along with the others. They all ran into the wilderness, finally free from all of this. I smiled in triumph.

Then we heard a sound from inside the temple.

"I've heard that sound before," Dad said.

"So have I," Raylee agreed. "But I can't remember what it was."

Dad thought about it for a moment. "The Alkali Horn." He turned to me. "Zak, something happened in there with your powers. What was it?"

"It was weird," I said. "Like when we were on Ellef Ringnes. A power boost, like from a mystic hot spot, but even bigger. There's way more mystic energy here. Why would there be—"

"The map from the Owlman's tunnel system," Mom interrupted. "I didn't even think to look before."

Holding the holographic map on her Cryptipedia, she turned to a few objects around us, naming each of them. "The Mouth of Water. The Three Watch Men, which means the Tomb of Kur is . . ."

She didn't finish. She didn't need to, because she was looking straight at the temple.

"Back inside," Dad said. "Move!"

We all didn't need to be told twice and ran back inside the temple. After a few moments, we heard a screeching sound and we all covered our ears.

"Keep . . . moving," Dad said.

The screeching stopped and we continued on our way.

We looked into the fight cage and noticed stairs descending down, and I didn't remember seeing them there before, so that's the way we went. At the bottom, there was snow all over the place. Where it came from? I had no idea. We entered into a room and noticed one side of the wall was carved open.

"We're too late," I said.

There was some green goop around the carved opening.

Dad touched it and examined it. "Mongolian Death Worm venom. Argost was already here. And whatever he found, he took it with him."

"All that for nothing?" Doyle said.

Fiskerton disagreed with that.

"No. It wasn't for nothing," Dad said. "We saved cryptids today. At least one of us remembered what our job's suppose to be."

He smiled at me proudly, and I smiled back. Sarah gave me a hug.

"You read the scans?" Dad asked Mom.

"Already sent to the local police," she replied. "Along with a tip on a slightly bigger fish."

I'm pretty sure I knew who she was talking about. Doyle and Van Rook had a fight in the air. Van Rook got the upper hand on him, but Doyle managed to put a grenade on his jetpack and send him flying outside the temple.

"So we keep going," Dad said. "If Argost had found Kur, we'd be fighting him already. Whatever he did find, I'm sure we'll have to deal with it soon enough."

* * *

 **And they will. Anyway, I guess this chapter was ok. The next one will cause some tension between Zak and Sarah.**

 **Please review.**


	22. The Underworld Bride

**Zak's POV**

Swimming with dolphins was awesome.

My family and I, plus Sarah and her family, were in the Indian Ocean, meeting with our friend Ulraj. I was swimming with and controlling rhino dolphins because (1. they're awesome, and (2. since Argost had opened Kur's tomb now, Dad wants me to be ready just in case I have to control a whole cryptid army. I was also doing tricks with them. In fact, I was in the middle of one right now.

"Come on," I told one of the dolphins that I was holding on to. "We're not gonna make it in time."

We jumped out of the water, the other jumped out in front of us, and we crisscrossed. I let go of the dolphin I was holding onto, did a flip, and landed on a platform. Sarah was waiting for me on it. Our families clapped. They were on the Saturday sub about thirty feet away from me and Sarah.

I bowed to them. "Thank you, thank you, ladies, gentlemen, uh . . . fish guy."

"His control of the cryptids is improving," I heard Ulraj say. "That time you could hardly notice all the mistakes."

I was offended by that, and Sarah seemed to be offended for me.

"What mistakes?" she asked.

I decided to get him for saying that. I activated my powers again and had the dolphins jump out of the water and land back into it right in front of Ulraj, splashing him from head to toe.

"Oops," I said sarcastically. "My mistake."

"Well played," he replied, giving me a thumbs up.

"Oh, definitely well played," Sarah said, then gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Well, actually, it was on my helmet, because I was wearing one with my suit. She was also wearing one, minus the helmet.

I continued to do tricks with the dolphins, but because of Sarah's aura, they would pay more attention to her instead of me. But I was ok with that.

An idea came to mind. I jumped into the water and willed the dolphins to lift me up by my feet with their backs.

"Cool!" I said, then turned to Ulraj. "Any mistakes now, Your Wonderfulness?"

In response, he stuck his hand in the water and pulled out a fish.

"Only over-confidence," he said, then threw the fish near the dolphins.

I lost the connection with one of them and that one went for the fish. I was now struggling to stay on top of the other one. It swam near the platform, made a sharp turn, and I fell back into the water. My suit came a little open and water poured into it, making me wet and cold.

"Well played," I grumbled.

"Is it wrong that I enjoy this?" he asked.

"Yes," Sarah muttered.

She held her hand out to me and I took it. I think she forgot that she had super strength now, because she really yanked me out of the water, knocking me into her and we both fell to the platform, me landing on top of her.

"Oops," she said. "Sorry."

I just laughed. "That's ok."

My parents decided that it was time to get back to the airship, so that's what we did. Zon gave me and Sarah and ride back. When we got there, Ulraj, Zack, Komodo, and Fiskerton were waiting for us.

"Thanks, girl," I told Zon.

Ulraj handed me a towel to dry myself off with. Instead, I grabbed Fiskerton's arm and dried myself off with his fur. He didn't like that.

"You are still upset about the fish?" Ulraj asked me.

"No, not at all," I said a little sarcastically. "I really appreciate all the help with training my cryptid powers. And, hey, maybe next you can help me with my combat practice."

"Are you sure that's a wise idea? We Kumari have an incredible spacial awareness."

He held his hands out to his side, which I didn't understand until Komodo became visible, his mouth between Ulraj's hands. "He has been trying to eat my kelp necklace since I got here." He showed it to us. "But I'm not so easy to sneak up on. After centuries of living underwater, we Kumari developed the shark-like ability to defeat electrical fields generated by all living things. It's in the nose."

"Umm, ok," Sarah and Zack said in unison, confused.

I understood what they were thinking.

"You don't even have a nose," I pointed out.

"Now you insult the king's physical appearance?" he said. "Combat practice it is."

"Oh, this should be good," Sarah said.

Unfortunately, it was. For Ulraj.

I hated to admit that he was beating me before we even started, but he was. He interlocked his arms around me from behind and I wrestled to break free. We ended up going inside the airship, all the way to the control room, and the others followed and watched as we continue our combat.

I managed to put my feet up, push off and do a back flip. I was now holding Ulraj from behind. He moved his foot, knocking my foot off balance, and we fell to the floor, still wrestling for dominance.

"Zak!" my dad called.

"Zak, what are you—" Mom started.

Ulraj and I stopped wrestling each other. We looked up and noticed my parents and Sarah and Zack's family looking down at us. Then I noticed someone on the video phone.

"Hair Gel," he said. "I see you make friends as well as you style your salt-and-pepper punk mollusk."

We stood up from the floor.

"Oh, hey, Doctor Beeman," I said. "Uh, we were just . . . combat practice. Best buddies, see?"

I tried to place a hand on Ulraj's shoulder, but, faster than I could follow, he grabbed my wrist with his hand without even looking at me.

"Dang," I said. "That is a pretty good trick."

I tried to break my hand out of his grip, but it was like breaking out of metal. Sarah came over, grabbed our arms, and pulled them apart. She could do that easily, but Ulraj didn't try to restrain her, which was smart.

"I apologize, Dr. Beeman," Dad said. "You were saying something about a UFO or a ugeny?"

"You should have my satellite by now," he replied.

On another screen, there was a showing of an island with a volcano and something flying around it.

"What do you think it is?" Mom asked.

"Unidentified," Dr. Beeman replied. "Hence the 'U'."

Sarah looked at me and I could tell it was taking all of her will power not to throw a fireball at the screen and cut the connection with him.

"So, where do we fit into this?" Dad asked. "Space crafts are your forte."

"If it were a space craft, I'd already be there," Dr. Beeman said. "This bogy is organic. More animal than extraterrestrial. I thought you might find that interesting."

"Indeed. But we'll check it out. Thank you, Doctor Beeman."

"Yes, yes, a joy as always," Mom added.

"An adventure," Ulraj said, sounding excited. "I get to come with you, right?"

"Uh . . ." Mom and Dad said, both seeming unsure.

"Come on, guys," I said. "Ulraj and I barely get to see each other. He lives underwater. Kind of hard to set a play date."

"And your kingdom?" Dad asked him.

He sighed. "I do love being king, but every day's the same. Pampering, the fine meats and chocolates, connoisseurs always rubbing my feet. They grow so dull. You understand?"

"Not a bit. But if you want in, that's fine with me."

"Alright!" I said, giving Ulraj a fist bump.

"And I'll try to restrain myself from offering fine chocolates or foot rubs," Mom said.

"Thank you," Ulraj replied, sounding relieved.

So we headed off to the island. Once we got there, my parents hovered the airship next to the shore and we got off on to a dock.

"Look at this totem," Mom said, gesturing to it on the dock. "No surprises with the fish. But this other creature, it looks—"

"Like that?" I asked, pointing to a bright colored bird flying in the air about twenty yards away.

It flew by us and we all were breath taken by its beauty.

"It's beautiful," Mom said.

"You do this job for years and still every once in a while something will simply take your breath away," Dad said.

And sometimes literally. Because as soon as he said that, the bird swooped in, knocked into Sarah, knocking her into Dad and about half the animals, and they fell into the water. Then it grabbed onto Fiskerton with its talons, carried him out over the water, and dropped him into it. It landed on the dock, knocking the rest of us into the water. Except Zon.

"That thing is a jerk," I said.

"You said it," Zack agreed.

"It could be defending its territory," Dad suggested.

It was flying above us and made a noise, its butt flashing yellow.

"Did it just . . . moon us?" Mom asked.

Zon took flight and flew with it.

"Or, maybe, it's just a jerk," Dad said.

"Does anybody else here smell blood?" Toto asked.

We smelt the air.

"Yes," Raylee said.

"Where's it coming from?" Zack asked.

"Me," someone said in a strained voice.

We turned to where it came from and saw something frightening.

"Sarah!" I called to her.

She was clutching her chest, and there was blood all around her. Raylee and Zack swam to her, grabbed her and pulled her to shore, laying her flat on the beach. The rest of us followed.

"What happened?" Zack asked her.

"That bird's beak is really sharp," Sarah replied, her voice barely a whisper, and she was breathing hard. "It pierced through my skin when it hit me."

"The wound is pretty opened," Raylee said. "I'm going to have to stitch it up."

"Do you know how to do that?" Zack asked her.

"Yes. I've done it a few times before. I'll take her back to the airship with Pikachu and the animals. You guys continue your, I guess, research on that bird."

"What about me?" Zack asked.

"You should stay with the Saturdays and let me handle Sarah with her being a girl and all."

I kind of knew what she meant. The bird had pierced her at her cleavage. Raylee picked her up, Sarah starting to look pale. Then they headed to the airship, leaving the rest of us on the beach.

Zack looked disappointed that he couldn't be with her, and so was I. But we did what Raylee told us and focused back on the jerk bird. He was still flying around with Zon and, for some reason, I was a little jealous. We walked back to the totem, looking at the icon of that bird on top.

"It's called the Duah," Mom said. "It's story's carved on the totem. According to oral tradition, it arose from the underworld and has lived in peace with humans for centuries. But lately, it's been showing itself more often, acting wild."

"Dwindling food supply, maybe?" Dad suggested. "It could be threatened by over fishing."

"If that's all it is, I can take care of this myself," I said. "My cryptid powers can make bad dino relocate to an uninhabited island where the fish would be all his."

Mom and Dad looked at each other, considering it for a moment.

"He is suppose to be honing his powers," Dad said. "Much better to do that on a hungry creature than a force of ultimate evil."

"Funny how stuff like this never came up in the parenting classes," Mom said, then turned to me. "Go get him, kiddo."

I smiled.

We went back to the airship and strapped a little platform onto Zon, then I put on a helmet and we were off.

"Come on," I called. "Come on out, Duah. I'm only here to help you."

Zon gained altitude all of a sudden, then I noticed the Duah dive by us. Zon flew down in front of it. I grabbed the claw and activated my powers. I didn't get a connection. Then Zon dodged him when he almost hit us.

"Ok, next pass," I said.

"Circle him," Dad suggested to me through the intercom from the airship to my helmet. "He'll get confused."

"Trying singing," Mom said. "It might sooth him."

There's no way I'm doing that.

"Do a loop," Ulraj said. "I don't know if it will help, but I've always wanted to see one."

I restrained myself from telling him he's not helping. I just focused back on the bird.

"You're doing great, girl," I told Zon. "Just let me connect with him and I'll send him packing."

The Duah was flying toward us. I had my powers activated. He was getting close, but at the last second, Zon flew away from it.

"Zon, come on," I told her. "It's ok. He's just a big bully. You don't have to be scared. I'm gonna let Zon go back to you guys. She seems spooked."

Zon landed me onto a cliff and she flew off. I turned back to the Duah.

"Ok, time to ship off for happier, fishier—"

I was interrupted all of a sudden when Zon grabbed the claw out of my hand with her talons and dropped it on the cliff a few feet away from me. The Duah flew over me and I barely had enough time to dodge him.

"Zon, what are you—"

She flew off after the Duah, leaving me on top of a cliff and confused.

"I do not think the Duah was looking for more fish," Ulraj said.

He seemed to be right about that.

* * *

Back on the airship, Sarah wasn't quite looking so good. Her mom brought her out of the infirmary, and she had a fresh new pair of clothes on, but she still looked pale. She walked over to me, slowly, kind of wobbling, and, when she got to me, she collapsed into my arms.

"She lost a lot of blood," Raylee explained. "So she'll be very queasy until I can get her new blood."

"How much blood did she lose?" Mom asked.

"About half a pint."

"That's a lot," Zack said.

"Oh, that's nothing. I once lost a whole quart of my blood."

"When and how?"

"A very long time ago. Almost eighty years ago. And how? Well, jealousy issues."

"What kind of jealousy issues?" Sarah asked.

"Well, it's kind of a long story," Raylee started. "This woman was jealous of me because she liked a guy who liked me more than her. Well, actually, she was . . ." Raylee stifled a laugh, and the animals seemed to be doing the same thing. "Never mind. She wanted to kill me because of that. Then she tried to kill the guy for trying to save me from her and because, if she couldn't have him, then no one else could. But, even though I was severely injured, I ended up killing her instead of her killing us. It was in self-defense. But . . . it was not a good night."

"It doesn't sound like it was," Zack said.

But Raylee looked at the animals and they all seemed sad, remembering that night. I wondered if something else happened that they left out . . .

"So, basically, it was teenage crap, but involved adults instead?" Sarah said, her voice still barely audible.

Raylee nodded. "Pretty much. But, anyway, I need to get you some new blood, or you're going to be that way for a long time. And, since you won't stay in the infirmary, you guys need to help her move, because she can't move on her own."

"Why won't you stay in the infirmary?" I asked Sarah.

"Because I don't want it to be like it was the last time," she replied. "Being unconscious and all."

"Actually, we need to keep you awake," Raylee said. "Because I'm afraid that if you fall asleep, you won't wake up again."

I could see what she was saying, because Sarah's eyes were droopy. Raylee gave her a shock and her eyes opened again.

"Yeah, can you guys keep her awake for me until I get back?" Raylee asked us.

"Of course," Mom said.

"Thank you. I'll be back as soon as I get her some blood. Let's go guys."

She activated her powers and she, Pikachu, and her pets were gone.

"So what's going on with that bird?" Sarah asked.

We told her how he was attracted to Zon, and Zon was attracted to him.

I gave Sarah to Zack for support.

"I can't believe her," I complained.

Fiskerton made a heart with his hands.

"No, it is not romantic," I disagreed. "He's a butt flashing, bully, jerk,"

 _Salam ore_ , he said.

"Salam ore? Since when do you growl in French?"

"Zak, we all know how you feel about Zon, but she's still an animal," Mom said. "Sometimes they just operate on instinct."

"That still doesn't make it right. Zon deserves better than that thing, and I'm gonna make her see that."

Before I could do just that, Mom stopped me.

"Zak, I don't think you should be interfering with this," she said.

"Mom!" I complained.

"This is still his mission, Drew," Dad said. "Right or wrong, he has to learn to make these kind of choices."

That didn't help me.

"Right or wrong?" I asked. "Is nobody with me on this?"

Everybody sighed.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Zak? Her father?" Sarah asked, marching up to me, which was really impressive considering how tired she was, but she looked wide awake right now. "Because you so are not. And even if you were, you don't have a right to decide who she can or can't be with, because, as you know, if I listened to my father, I wouldn't be here right now, now would I?"

"She's right, Zak," Zack said.

And she was, and I felt kind of bad, but I wasn't going to back down.

"Sometimes it's necessary to do that," I said. "And that's what I have to do."

Sarah looked disappointed. "Then do it. But I will warn you, Zak Saturday, you will only make it worse."

She collapsed back into Zack. It was silent for a moment.

"Actually, I don't care," Ulraj said. "I just want to see some fighting."

"Well, I'm still gonna handle this," I said. "I just got two problem cryptids to deal with now."

* * *

Unfortunately, I couldn't handle them. I did a few tries, but in the end, Zon picked me up and dropped me into the ocean.

"I don't get it," I said. "I know Zon. She should be easy to control."

"This is why we're training, Zak," Dad said through the communicator. "None of us really get your power with cryptids yet."

"I just hope the beast, Kur, is no tougher than a pteranodon with a sweetheart," Ulraj said.

Yeah, I kind of hope so, too. Then suddenly, a boat came toward me so fast that I barely had enough time to swim out of the way.

"What's your hurry?" I asked.

Then I noticed a lot of other boats on the water.

"What's everyone's hurry? Uh, is everybody else seeing this?"

"They are nomadic fishermen," Dad said.

"Who leave right at the pick of the season?" Mom said. "I don't think so. I better see what's going on."

While Mom was asking the fishermen about their surprising departure, I went back to the airship and dried myself off.

"I don't know why you worry, Zak," Ulraj said. "Females are always getting sick of their boyfriends. Well, not in my personal experience, of course. Any Kumari girl would give her left gill to be seen on the arm of the king for even one— Will you put it into your lizard skull that there is no sneaking up on me?"

He was holding Komodo, who was invisible, back at arms length.

"Maybe you're right," I said. "I mean, really, how long can this thing last?"

"Yeah, and I wonder how long it'll be until your girlfriend will be sick of you," Sarah said. "Because at the rate you're going, it won't be too long from now."

Ouch. That hurt.

Zack laughed. "Dude, you just got burned."

I really wish he would stop rubbing it in.

"Bad news," Mom said as she entered the room. "Apparently my first source didn't know the Duah's entire story. Now that the creature's found a mate, he'll be taking the island back down to the Underworld with him."

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"That's horrible," Ulraj said.

"Oh, no. That wasn't the bad part," Mom continued. "Once they're down there, he eats his new bride alive."

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Quite the honeymoon," Dad said.

"We have to do something."

"I agree. We should—"

"Zak!" Mom called.

I jumped out of the airship and into the water. Zon and the Duah were flying near the shore.

"Zon, listen to me. This is important," I called to her, but she ignored me.

My family and I agreed that in order to save Zon we would have to capture her. Sarah was way too weak to help, which she didn't like, but Zack decided to stay with her. Ulraj and I went underwater and hooked a fish to a rope.

"The Kumari have used this method to trap birds for centuries," Ulraj said.

"You live underwater," I said. "Why would you trap birds?"

"We do have to eat."

The fish jumped out of the water.

"She spotted it," Dad told me through the communicator in my helmet. "Get ready."

The rope was being tugged on and me and Ulraj pulled down as hard as we could, dragging Zon into the water. Mom flew the airship overhead and Fiskerton dropped a net on Zon, then he came down on a rope, grabbed her, and lifted her back into the airship. Then he threw down a couple ropes for me and Ulraj to climb back up on.

"Dad, heads up!" I called, then threw a rope down to him.

He grabbed it and we pulled him up. Zon cried out.

"Sorry, girl," I apologized to her. "But it's for your own good."

My parents flew us away from the island.

* * *

Sarah, Zack, Ulraj, Fiskerton, Komodo, and I put Zon into a solid glass case in the back of the airship. She didn't like it one bit and kept cawing.

"I know," I told her. "But if you won't listen to reason, we'll just have to take you away from Mister Bad Influence."

She wasn't listening.

Fiskerton was sad that they were apart, made a heart with his hands again, and made it look broken.

"You are really not helpful right now," I told him.

Sarah was standing right next to the cage, and I swear I saw a tear streak down her face. I walked to her side.

"Hey, Sarah," I said. "I—"

"Please don't say anything," she interrupted. "I don't want to hear it."

I decided not to respond.

Then we heard a sound from outside, and I knew it was the Duah. A moment later, the alarms went off.

"Zak, it's in the airship," Mom told us over the intercom. "It's coming for Zon."

Well, duh. Why else would it be here? Zon understood and was calling for him.

I turned toward the others. "Go try to stop him. I'll protect Zon."

Ulraj, Zack, Fiskerton, and Komodo went off and left me and Sarah with Zon. I grabbed the claw. Sarah activated her fire powers, though she could barely stand, and we stood ready.

"Zak, he's still coming!" Ulraj called from down the hallway a minute later.

The Duah entered. I whacked the claw at him and Sarah began throwing fireballs.

"You are not going to get—"

I was interrupted when Zon broke through the glass and hit me in the back, knocking me to the floor. The Duah helped her out and they flew out of the airship together.

Sarah helped me up, or tried to, but ended up falling onto the ground next to me. I helped her up and we ran to the control room along with the others. We noticed that some of the windows were broken, and the engine had a big hole in it. We looked outside the broken windows and saw Zon and the Duah flying back to the island.

"There!" I called. "They're going back to the island. Let's go!"

"We can't," Mom said. "The stabilizing controls are completely fried. Until we get the airship fixed—"

"What are they doing down there" Ulraj asked.

I looked back and saw them breaking down the cliffs, causing big rocks to fall into the ocean.

"They're triggering some sort of seismic instability in the island's core," Dad said.

"An earthquake," Mom said. "They're sinking the island."

"Down to the Underworld," Ulraj said.

The island looked like it snapped in half.

"Zon," I said, heart-broken.

Mom and Dad began fixing the airship after they had told us that the Duah carried the totem up in the air and dropped it into the airship, breaking the windows and the engine.

"Doctor Saturday, there must be some way of rescuing her," Ulraj said.

"Not until we get this ship repaired," he replied.

I didn't think Zon would last that long. Then I noticed some parachutes hanging on the wall next to the door. I grabbed one, strapped it on, and jumped out the window.

"Zak, no!" Mom called, but I was already gone.

I opened my parachute and was now falling with style down to the island. But I wasn't the only one.

"Zak, wait for me!" Ulraj called.

"And us," Zack added.

They appeared next to me, but Ulraj was the only one with a parachute. Zack was holding onto Sarah while he was flying.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked. "This is my fight."

"I didn't come along on this trip just to hear about someone else's adventure," Ulraj said. "And I'm guessing these devices don't have a turn around button anyway."

"Yeah, and you're gonna need our help with this whether you like it or not," Sarah said.

I sighed. I shouldn't be mad at them for being good friends.

We landed on the island and I got rid of my parachute.

"The Duah's nest is up there," I said, pointing up the cliff.

Suddenly boulders started coming down from it. We moved out of the way to avoid getting hit by them.

"Yes, where all the rocks that could crush your head are coming from," Ulraj said. "I guessed that."

Sarah laughed. "You're right there."

I guess it was pretty obvious.

Another boulder came down and I dodged it at the last second. That's when Zon noticed me and didn't like it.

"Ok, that is it," I said, then activated my powers. "Zon, I command you to leave the Duah and come home now! Do you hear me? I command you."

I seemed to be in control of her, but then she flew at me, and I dodged her.

"Zon!" I tried again with my powers, but Ulraj stopped me.

"It's not going to work," he said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, getting annoyed.

"Your powers. I can see it now."

He pushed me out of the way just in time before a boulder smashed us.

"You influence the cryptids, but you don't truly control them," Ulraj told me. "The first lesson I learned as king is that everyone hates an order. The secret is to make them _want_ to do what you want them to do, then they willingly follow your lead."

"I'm not trying to be king of the cryptids," I argued. "I'm trying to save Zon from being eaten alive!"

"By having her be eaten dead?" Zack asked.

We glared at him.

"I'll shut up."

"Good idea," Sarah agreed.

Ulraj turned back to me. "You're trying to command her. The Rhinoceros dolphins danced for you because they wanted to dance. They're born showoffs. Every time you use your powers, I would imagine it's the same. There must be some small part of the cryptid that wants to do what you're asking. You can't completely take away the free will of another creature."

"He's right, Zak," Sarah agreed. "In order for you to bring Zon home safely, you need to tell her how you feel or you'll lose her forever."

I took their words to heart. Then Zon and the Duah appeared next to us.

"You're right," I told them. I ran toward the birds with the claw in hand and knocked the Duah in the back "You stay back!"

It backed off and flew away for the moment. Then I turned to Zon and activated my powers again.

"What are you doing?" Ulraj asked.

I ignored him and focused on Zon.

"Zon, I just wanna talk to you," I told her. "I know there's some part of you that at least wants that."

I deactivated my powers. She came near me and cawed.

"I know you think you'll be happy in your new home with the Duah, but Zon, you have a home. You have a family. And if you choose the Duah, you'll never see us again. Never. You understand?"

She cooed in response.

"Maybe we can't fly or glow, but . . . we love you. I love you," I continued. "So just, come home, ok?"

She cooed again and nodded. I smiled. And so did the others.

But the moment didn't last long.

"He's back," Ulraj said.

I looked up and saw the Duah carrying a big boulder. He dropped it between me and Zon. We moved out of the way before it landed on us. Then he picked up Zon and flew up the mountain.

"No!" I called.

The four of us ran as fast as we could up the mountain. Once we reached the top, we noticed the Duah taking Zon down a hole to the Underworld. We stopped for a moment, hesitating. We looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. We jumped down the hole.

We landed pretty hard onto a lot of bones. I looked around. It was dark. I could see a river, but that was about it.

"So this is the Underworld," I said.

"But where are the twelve singing sea horses of Namaland?" Ulraj asked.

We stared at him, completely confused.

"We clearly have a very different Underworld mythology," he said.

"Clearly," Sarah agreed.

"It's so dark," I said. "I can't see—"

"On your right," Ulraj said suddenly. "Strike now."

I didn't ask questions. I had the claw in my hands and swung it like a bat, hitting the Duah back. It splashed into the water.

"My senses do more than protect my kelp necklace," Ulraj said.

"And our powers allow us to see in the dark," Zack added.

Apparently, yes. We jumped into the water, except Sarah. I had extended the claw. The Duah managed to grab it, with me, Zack, and Ulraj holding on to it, and pulled us out of the water, spinning us around in the air. He let us go and we got thrown into a pile of bones.

"Are you guys alright?" Sarah asked, helping us out of the bones.

"Yeah," I said.

"Get ready," Ulraj said. "He's coming behind us."

I held the claw close and waited.

"Wait," Sarah said.

A moment later . . .

"Now!"

I swung around and hit the Duah. But it wasn't backing down this time.

"Right. Left," Ulraj said, and I repeated it physically. "One for me."

He kicked the Duah in the chest, which knocked him back a little, but not enough.

"Right," Ulraj said.

I continued hitting the bird. He flew back away from me.

"Duck!" Ulraj said.

I didn't know what he meant, but I did as he said, and not a moment later did a rock fly past my head and into the Duah, knocking him to the ground. I looked back and saw Zon flying with a rock in her talons, except they weren't rocks. They were skulls. She cawed in triumph.

"Nice aim, girl," I told her.

The Duah was struggling to get up. We all walked up to it.

"Listen, jerk," I told him. "Your home is being taken into the Underworld and your bride just stood you up at the altar."

He growled in frustration.

"I know it's embarrassing for you," I continued. "But you have two choices: live the rest of eternity with no home, no bride, and getting daily beat downs from me . . ."

"And me," Ulraj added.

"And us," Zack said, referring to him and Sarah.

I activated my powers before continuing. "Or sink your sorry bat butt down to the Underworld where you belong."

He growled and Zon threw another skull at him.

"So, what do you want?" I asked.

In response, he took flight and dived into the water.

"Still, he really was beautiful," Ulraj said.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed.

"Eh, I'm over it," we heard my dad say.

We turned around and noticed my parents and Fiskerton standing just below the hole to the entrance of the Underworld with ropes hanging down it.

"Nice work, boys," Dad said. "And Sarah, of course."

"Now how about a lift back to the airship before we become permanent Underworld residents?" Mom asked.

Zon landed next to me and I had a different idea.

"No thanks," I said. "I'll catch my own ride."

They didn't argue. So they took Ulraj, Sarah, and Zack, as well as themselves, back to the airship while I took a ride back on Zon.

* * *

We were now taking Ulraj home, and along the way, I was brushing down Zon.

"Ok, happy hunting," I told her. "Go on. Catch your supper."

She dived down toward the water to catch some fish. I turned to Ulraj.

"Thanks for everything," I told him. "I guess you did end up teaching me something about my powers, huh?"

"I'd like to think I am not just a king for my own people," he said. "But for all people."

"Yeah, that's great. And, hey, to return the favor, let me teach you how insolated padding can block electrical fields."

He was confused by what I was saying, but to prove what I meant, Komodo jumped on him, wearing insolated padding, and got his kelp necklace.

Sarah laughed. "Nice one, Komodo."

He was happily eating the necklace. Ulraj was still in shock.

"By the way," I said to him. "He really wanted to do that."

"I am ready for fine chocolates and foot rubs again," he replied.

We all laughed.

"Hey, guys," Raylee said, appearing out of no where as usual, along with Pikachu and the animals.

"Hi, Mom," Sarah and Zack both said in unison.

"Hi, Sarah. I got you new blood." She held up a solid bag. "You ready to stop feeling sluggish and tired?"

"And weak," she added. "Yes."

"Alright then. Come on."

Zack helped her up, then they all left the room.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

I was sitting on an infirmary bed while Mom grabbed a bag of blood out of the bag she was carrying, put it on an IV, and stuck a needle in my arm.

"It'll take a while for you to regain the amount of blood you lost," she said.

I nodded. "Ok. But where did you get all this blood?"

"It's a secret."

"From a hospital?" Zack asked.

"Was it that obvious?" Mom asked.

"A little."

"Well, I didn't know where else to get it, unless I found someone who has the exact same blood type as you and made them give there's to me. But don't worry, I paid for it."

"That's good," I said.

Mom sat down next to me on the bed. "So what happened while I was gone?"

Zack and I told her everything about the Duah.

"The Underworld?" she asked, seeming a little confused and excited.

"I doubt it was that kind of Underworld," I said.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "It looked like something different."

Mom nodded. "Ok."

You see, she's read a little Greek mythology, even though she doesn't know much about it and doesn't believe in any of those gods except the one true God in Heaven.

Zak entered the room a moment later.

"Hi, Zak," Mom said.

"Umm, hi," he said back.

She looked at me for a moment, then back at him. "Uh, we'll leave you two alone."

No one objected. She, Zack, and the animals left the room. Zak walked over to me and sat down on the bed.

"Hey, Sarah, can I ask you something?" he said.

"Sure," I said. "What?"

"Why were you crying earlier?"

I sighed. "Because, Zak, you were trying to keep Zon and the Duah apart, and he was fighting for her."

"Yeah, so that he could eat her."

"I know. But it made me think about you and me and how my dad is about our relationship. He doesn't like it at all. And I was wondering, if he found a way to keep us apart, would you fight for me like the Duah fought for Zon? No matter what he does to you?"

"Well, I wouldn't fight for you so that I could eat you," Zak answered.

"Uh, no," I agreed. "That would be disgusting and disturbing."

He nodded. "Right. But I would fight for you. No matter what."

"You would?"

"Of course. Sarah, I—" he faltered.

I had a feeling he was about to say he loved me, which would've been nice to hear, but it is way too soon for us to say something like that to each other.

"I really care about you."

That was a bit too much, but I liked it.

I smiled. "That's really sweet. And I would do the same."

He smiled back at me. I leaned in and kissed him. He kissed me back. After a couple minutes, we shifted ourselves so that I was lying on the bed and he was on top of me. After about a few more minutes, the moment was ruined when the thing holding my blood fell to the ground.

We laughed.

Zak pulled it up, then he wrapped his arms around me and we laid together on the bed until my blood lose was regained. It was so nice.

* * *

 **I think this chapter was better than the last two. I added something extra to it, but there was one part that I removed. After Drew told them all about how the Duah was going to take Zon down to the Underworld and eat him and Zak went to warn her, a man was passing by him and had a basket full of bread. Zak had taken a loaf of bread and tried imitating what the Duah was going to do to Zon by chomping on it and saying "Mmmm. Yummy, Zon." It was too stupid that I didn't want to add it to my story, so I didn't.**

 **Anyway, please review.**


	23. Ghost in the Machine

**Zak's POV**

Dad was working on some kind of electrical zappers and Fiskerton, Sarah, Zack, and I were helping him.

"Alright," he said. "Try charging numbers three and four."

Fiskerton and I did just that.

"Green," I said, and Fisk said the same.

"Excellent."

"So what do we have here?" I asked. "Portable electro magnets? Really big flash lights?"

"Reflex disruptors," Dad said. "I've been thinking the cortex disruptor needed a companion tool. Something for cryptids that are muscle than brain. It relaxes the quick twitch muscles on contact: leg, arm, whatever you don't want to hit you. Any muscle you touch instantly goes dead for up to two minutes."

That gave me an idea.

"Uh-huh," I said. "And have they been equality tested?"

I held up two of them toward Fiskerton. He understood what I meant and picked up three of his own. Sarah also understood too, and she backed away from the both of us as far as she could.

"Thoroughly," Dad said. "Once I get the charging station up, we can—"

We didn't hear the rest because Fisk and I just zapped each other. We screamed in pain. It hurt a lot. We collapsed on the floor, some of our muscles completely weak. Sarah laughed.

"This is not how we equality test," Dad said, sounding annoyed.

We shook our muscles awake. Then we heard some static come from a little screen we had in the room. There was a voice coming from it, calling for help.

"It sounds like a distress call," I said.

"It can't be," Dad said. "That's a satellite tracking monitor. It's not set up for voice."

A man appeared on the screen, but it was fuzzy.

"Solomon. Solomon!" he said.

"Dad, why does the voice that shouldn't exist know you?" I asked.

"It's Basil Lancaster," he replied, sounding surprised. "A friend of my father's. A scientist. But that's not . . ."

The man on the screen began speaking again.

"Honey Island . . . the answer. Finish . . . Solomon."

"He wants you to finish Honey Island?" I asked, trying to make sense of it.

"Honey Island, Louisiana," Dad said. "It's where he use to live. Where I helped him with his work."

"Use to live? So where does he live now?"

"He doesn't. Basil Lancaster died more than twenty-five years ago."

That surprised me.

"So what?" Sarah asked. "Is this some kind of paranormal activity or something?"

"No," Dad said. "I don't know what it is, but I don't believe in paranormal activity, and I'm not going to now."

He started to take apart the satellite tracking monitor.

"Clearly," Sarah muttered.

After a while, Mom, Zack, Raylee, and her Pikachu came into the room. We told them about the mysterious guy talking to us through the monitor. Dad may not believe in paranormal activity, but Mom seemed to.

"It may not be a glitch, Doc," she told him. "It could be an actual message from Dr. Lancaster. The part that's left of him."

"So what are we believing in now: ghosts or zombies?" he asked.

"Oh, please tell me it's both," I said.

"That would be cool," Zack agreed.

Sarah rolled her eyes at the both of us.

"It's called EVP," Mom said. "Electronic Voice Phenomenon. Now sometimes a receiver will pick up the proto plasmic energy, the spirit of a person who's past on, just like it was a radio wave."

"And Dr. Lancaster's proto plasium just happened to run into my satellite tracker after twenty-five years," Dad said sarcastically.

"Uh, there's no 'just happened to' about it. EVPs usually show up when someone has unfinished business."

"That's exactly what the ghost said," I said. "He told Dad to finish what they did on Honey Island."

Dad sighed. "There may have been a project left incomplete. Or, maybe his life's work. Honey Island was just one bus and a swamp boat ride from our house in New Orleans. I practically lived up there on weekends and summers. Dr. Lancaster was like a second father to me. The work was inspiring. A government funded project to isolate the unique DNA sequences that make a cryptid a cryptid. The potential was limitless. And sadly unrealized. We never finished, and then he was gone."

Fiskerton found that sad and looked like he was about to cry.

"Unfinished business," I said.

Dad understood what I meant and didn't like it. "No. We have living, breathing problems to worry about. We've lost too much ground to Argost."

"Argost," the ghost of Dr. Lancaster said, appearing on the screen again. "Have the answer. Doc, Honey Island. Finish it."

And he disappeared again.

"Well, now I'm at least intrigued," Dad said, which was enough to get him to go.

So we all, including the animals, got into the airship and were now heading to Louisiana.

"Hey, Mom," Sarah said. "Have you ever been to Honey Island before?"

"I've been to every single city in the country," she replied. "So yes."

* * *

A while later, we arrived at Honey Island, and it was a swamp.

Dad breathed in the air and breathed out. "Isn't it great?"

"When did they stop paying the gardener?" Mom asked.

I had to agree. Honestly, what's great about a swamp?

"Government money is what kept this town alive," Dad said.

I looked out in the distance and swear I saw something move around the trees.

"Umm, hey, Dad," I said. "You said you studied cryptids here. Any, uh, up close study sessions?"

"The Honey Island Swamp Monster," he replied with a little gratitude. "First cryptid I ever tracked. Boy, this place brings back memories. Come on. I wanna show you the lab."

He grabbed Mom's hand and ran off, Raylee and the animals following. But the rest of us stayed where we were, because I noticed something.

"It's watching us," I said, pointing in the direction of a cryptid.

It knew we noticed it and dived into the water.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go see what it's doing here."

I ran off in that direction. They followed me. After a while, we saw the cryptid again.

"Wait here," I told the others.

I moved a little closer to it. Then I heard growling all around me.

"Zak, alligators!" Sarah called.

I noticed them, and they had me surrounded. One snapped at me. I jumped up and landed on its snout, but another snapped at me. I jumped again, sliding on the back of another. They all kept snapping at me, one after another, and I could barely dodge any of them.

Sarah flew overhead and grabbed me, lifting me out of the alligators reach. We landed on the ground and all of us began running away from them. Luckily, they were too slow to follow us.

When we were far enough away from them, we stopped to catch our breath. Fiskerton complained to me.

"Yes, you were right about the alligators, ok?" I said. "Just let me—" I faltered when I noticed the cryptid again. "Let's go, guys."

We ran after it. Once we reached it, it turned around to face us and roared, then it jumped up in the air, grabbed a vine, and used it to swing into us, knocking us all into the water. When we resurfaced, Fiskerton was wrestling with the cryptid.

"Let me try to connect with it," I said, then grabbed the claw. "Calm him down."

I activated my powers, and, somehow, blasted us all out of the water.

"Where did that much power come from?" I wondered out loud.

"Uh, Zak?" Sarah said, sounding hesitant. "That cryptid's not alone."

I saw what she meant. A lot more cryptids appeared out of no where. We were completely surrounded.

A cryptid came up from behind me and pounded its fist down at me. I rolled to dodge it. Fiskerton knocked away the cryptid he was wrestling with, and then we all ran for our lives. But, unfortunately, they followed us. We dodged one hit after another, and we were getting tired.

Fiskerton asked me which way the lab was.

"I don't know which way!" I said.

He didn't like that.

"It's this way, guys," Zack said.

He and Sarah made a right turn. I knew their powers told them that. We followed them.

We came to a clearing and I saw the lab. But the cryptids were still close behind us. We bolted for the lab. We entered it, but didn't stop until we found our parents, then we closed the door behind us and leaned up against it.

"Zak?" Mom asked.

"We're ok," I said. "And just so you know, whatever happens in the next thirty seconds, it was completely not our fault."

"For once, I agree," Sarah said.

Then we heard a noise from outside.

"What did you do, Zak?" Dad asked.

"Well, that doesn't matter now," Mom said.

"Mom's right," I agreed. "It doesn't matter."

"I said it doesn't matter now," she corrected.

"Guys, there's something, or a lot of things here," Shillow said.

To prove what she was saying, the room began to shake. Then something broke through the door, wrapped its arms around me, and pulled me back. Dad grabbed my leg and pulled back, then punched the door. The cryptid let me go.

Then the cryptids began appearing one after another by breaking through the walls, ceiling, and floor. We began fighting them all off, but there were too many of them.

"Everybody hit the deck!" Raylee said.

Sarah pulled me and Fiskerton to the ground, then summoned a force field around us. Zack and Raylee did the same. Then I noticed Pikachu in the middle of the floor, and she activated her electricity, shocking all of the cryptids around us. And they were gone.

Sarah, Zack, and Raylee deactivated the force fields. The whole room was a mess, but, surprisingly, the equipment wasn't destroyed.

"Everybody alright?" Dad asked.

"We're fine," I said.

"Good, because I'd hate for sympathy to ruin all the wonderful punishments I'm planning if this really was your fault."

I was nervous.

"It wasn't his fault," Sarah said, coming to my defense. "It wasn't any of our faults."

"Well, Zak was kind of harassing them," Zack said. "And they were defending their territory."

We glared at him. "Not helping."

"I counted at least six different species in that group," Mom said, changing the subject. "All bipedal hominids, and they all just happen to be in the neighborhood? There may be something more going on here than just our boys causing trouble."

"Like I said, completely not our fault," I said.

"Not push your luck, kiddo."

I stayed quiet. Sarah laughed.

"Why would a group of cryptids be making a coordinated attack?" Dad asked. "And why here?"

"I don't know," Mom said. "But there's somebody who knows more about this place than even you do."

The computer screen next to us blared static, and I was expecting to see that ghost doctor again, but no one appeared.

"Doc?" Mom asked.

"Most of what I know I learned from that man," he said. "If that's . . . some part of him, I need to finish this." He turned toward the screen. "Dr. Lancaster? Basil? If your proto plasmic floating goo is out there, I need to ask you . . ."

The man appeared on the screen.

"Argost trying to stop . . ." he said. "You have to finish, Solomon. Stop Argost. Kur."

He disappeared again.

"Zak, I'm half an hour away from something I've waited thirty years to see," Dad said. "You think you boys can build a strong enough barricade up stairs to buy us thirty minutes?"

I nodded. "Oh, yeah. Absolutely."

Fiskerton, Sarah, Zack, Komodo, and I left the room. We began moving furniture in front of the front door, and while doing so, I began thinking of something.

"Zak, are you alright?" Sarah asked.

I was so lost in thought, I didn't hear her.

"What?" I said. "Oh, sorry. I was just— Think about it, guys. What is that EVP thing really said? Honey Island, finish it? He only mentioned Argost and Kur after Dad did."

Them seemed to understand what I meant.

"Ok," Zack said. "But then what do you think is going on here?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. But, come on. We've gotta talk to our parents about this."

I was about to move when I heard the window break, then two odd-looking balls were thrown in. They exploded and smoke began filling the air. I couldn't breath, and neither could anyone else. We were coughing a lot.

It became too much for me to fight and I blacked out.

* * *

I woke up to Komodo growling. My hands and feet were tied up and so were Fiskerton's, Komodo's, Zack's, and Sarah's. But me, Fiskerton, and Komodo were in some kind of glass case. Sarah and Zack were outside of it, lying on the floor a few feet away. Then I noticed a few guys on the opposite side of the room, all wearing lab coats.

"I knew it," I said. "Alright, which one of you is Lancaster? Come on. I know you faked the ghost to bring my dad here."

"I assure you, son, Dr. Lancaster is long departed," one of the said. He was pretty old. He walked up to us. "But, thankfully for us, he left behind hours and hours of video. With a little creative editing, the man can say almost anything. Oh, but I thought you had it all figured out, son. My colleges and I are what remains of the Honey Island Project. Well, us and the cryptids you met. The ones we built from the DNA."

"What? That's not true," I said. "My dad wouldn't—"

"Oh, calm yourself, son," he interrupted. "Your daddy never knew about the ugly side of our work. The cryptid super soldiers the government hired Lancaster to make. When we lost Lancaster, they shut us down. We thought it was all over. And then twenty-five years go by and I see his little lab assistant up on the TV." A screen next to him showed a newscast of us when we were in Osorno that time with the lava lizard. "So I called the boys and I said, 'Gentlemen, I believe there's still someone who can get that old machine running again'."

"Wait," I said. "What machine?"

"Now, I thought for sure you were smarter than that, son," the guy said. "I'm talking about the machine you're sitting in right now."

Uh-oh. I had a bad feeling about this. Even Sarah and Zack looked frightened, but they weren't the ones who were in it.

The scientists laughed evilly.

"Saturday's work is uploaded," the old guy said. "Fire up the machine."

Komodo, Fiskerton, and I began to spin around inside the machine.

"Hey, what? No!" I said. "Let us out!"

But we kept spinning. I felt like we were being molded together. Then I lost consciousness.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

I was crying. The thing I saw before me was not Zak, Fiskerton, or Komodo. It was something too hideous for me to even describe.

"What did you do to them?!" I screamed.

"I simply combined their DNAs," the old scientist guy replied. "Now we're going to take them to see your family."

Oh, I could only imagine what they're going to think when they see them like this. Especially Doc and Drew.

A couple of the other scientists put chains on their arms.

"What are you going to do with us?" Zack asked.

"Well, we find your powers truly interesting," the old guy said. "So we're simply going to try and take them as our own."

He, along with the other scientists, laughed. Then they all left the room, taking the hideous mixed DNAs of Zak, Fiskerton, and Komodo with them.

Zack and I gritted our teethes.

"This is why we hate scientists," Zack said.

"I know," I agreed. "And building cryptids from DNA? What is this, Jurassic Park?"

Zack shook his head in agreement. "Never a good idea."

We struggled to break out of our chains, but, even with our super strength, we couldn't seem to break free. Of course, I wasn't sure if our super strength was even working.

"Great," Zack sighed. "Now what do we do?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. But Mom should be able to find us."

"Yeah."

As it turned out, Mom wasn't the one that found us, for what felt like hours later, but the cheetah cubs.

"You guys need a hand?" Toto asked us. "Or, mouth?"

"Yes, please," I said, practically begging.

They walked behind us and chomped their teeth down on the chains, breaking them to pieces. Hey, they've got super strength too.

"Thanks, guys," I said.

"Any time," Chewie said.

"Did you guys see Zak, Komodo, and Fiskerton?"

They nodded.

"Yeah, and so did everyone else," Honey said.

"Disturbing, huh?" I asked.

"That would be an understatement," Kika said. "They are way past disturbing. And, believe me, we know. We've seen a lot of disturbing things over the years."

I nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

We ran out of the building.

* * *

Once we got outside, there was chaos. The scientists were having a hard time keeping their cryptids under control. I looked among them, but I couldn't see the Zak-Fiskerton-Komodo transformation anywhere.

"Sarah! Zack!" Mom called to us. She was standing a few feet away, along with the other animals. "Oh, Thank God, you two are ok."

"Where are the Saturdays?" I asked.

She pointed to the trees. "They ran down to the swamp."

I didn't ask anymore questions and I ran in that direction, my family following close behind. After a few moments, I found Doc and Drew about twenty feet away, but no sign of the others.

Luckily, my aura was able to sense them. They still had Komodo's invisibility, because they were up in a tree to avoid their parents, then they jumped down from it when they passed by and ran in the opposite direction, right into mine and my family's path.

It was really hard not to gag or cry at the sight of them. Doc shot some kind of cord at them. It wrapped about their legs, knocking them to the ground.

"Hold him still," Drew said, walking over to them. "I wanna try to talk to him."

Unfortunately, Komodo's tail didn't get covered by the cord and it knocked her and Doc away. They managed to unravel the cord from around their feet and began to run again, but I stopped them in their path.

"Zak! Fiskerton! Komodo!" I called to them. "I know you guys are still in there. Please listen to me."

They didn't. But me distracting them gave Drew a chance to jump on top of them. They were struggling to get her off their back, but Doc held their arms back.

"Zak! Fiskerton! Komodo! You know me," Drew told them. "Look at me. You know me!"

They stopped struggling and looked at her. "Mom?"

It was Zak's voice. Oh, I could barely contain myself from crying with joy.

"Yes, yes. That's right, honey," Drew said to him. "It's your mom, and—"

Then suddenly, all of the cryptids we were running from earlier appeared around them. Zak growled at them and struggled to get Drew off his back.

"No, no, Zak. Zak, I'm still here," she told him.

"Stay away from him," Doc told the cryptids.

Unfortunately, they didn't listen. One jumped up and grabbed Drew off of Zak's back and held her to the ground. Another grabbed Doc.

Now we began fighting back. Another one of them wrapped its arms around Zak from behind.

"No! He's my son!" Drew called.

"He's not one of you," Doc said.

"His name is Zak Saturday, and you can't have him. You hear me?!"

The cryptid that had its arms around Zak suddenly began to speak. "Zak Saturday?"

The cryptids around us stopped fighting, even the one that was holding Drew down let her go.

"Yes. Yes, my son," she said. "Zak Saturday."

"Solomon. Solomon Saturday," the cryptid said slowly.

"I'm Solomon Saturday," Doc spoke up.

The cryptid walked toward a wood building and walked inside.

"An old playmate?" Drew asked Doc.

"I've never seen him before now," Doc replied.

The cryptid came back out, holding a picture in one hand and a voice recorder. He held up the picture to Doc. "Solomon?"

The picture was of him when he was a little boy with someone I could only assume was Dr. Lancaster.

"Yes," Doc said. "That's me."

"Message for Solomon," the cryptid said, then held up the voice recorder.

He played it. After listening to it, Doc looked flabbergasted.

The cryptids led us back to the lab, and Zak followed. The rest of the cryptids and the scientists were standing in front of us.

"The machine," Doc said.

One of the cryptids pointed to it.

"You left it for us?"

"They wouldn't touch it," the old guy said. "Don't ask me why. It sure caused them enough pain thirty years ago—"

The cryptid that stood behind him pushed him forward.

Then the cryptid that talked to us grabbed him by his shirt and pointed at Zak-Fiskerton-Komodo. "Fix."

He didn't argue.

Zak-Fiskerton-Komodo climbed into the machine and the scientists turned it on. He began spinning in a circle just like before for about a whole minute, then Zak, Fiskerton, and Komodo were back to their individual selves. They came out of the machine, looking grateful that they were back to normal.

"Boys," Drew said.

They had a big family hug. It was so cute. Then I gave Zak an even bigger hug.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're back and that they rest of you are no longer one big freak," I cried.

He hugged me back. "Yeah, me too." Then he noticed the scientists. "Mom! Dad! Those guys. They're the ones who made the EVP. It was a trick to—"

"Zak, it's ok," Drew interrupted. "It's ok. We know."

"Well, now," Dad said. "I can't believe I fell for a ghost story."

"I can't believe the rational scientific explanation was actually right for once. Score one for you."

"Are you all ok?"

"We're fine," Zak said. "Better than fine. You guys thought we were close before. We're DNA brothers now."

"Yep," Zack agreed. "And we all know now what you would look like if you were mixed together. Literally."

Fiskerton and Komodo didn't seam to like that thought, and I didn't blame them.

The cryptid that talked to us came toward us, still holding the voice recorder and picture. Fiskerton and Komodo growled at him.

"It's ok," Doc assured them. "They're working for Dr. Lancaster."

"Then he is alive," Zak said.

"No. But he did leave me a message. No ghosts this time. Just a machine."

He played them the voice recorder:

 _Solomon, if you're hearing this, then you know what I've done, what Honey Island was really about_ , the voice of Dr. Lancaster said. _I'm sorry, Solomon. My conscience knew it was wrong, but it took me too long to listen. I destroyed enough of our research to cripple the project, then fled to the Bayou. My colleges went into hiding, but I knew they'd never give up on our work. So I left Honey Island as it was, hoping if they ever tried to revive the project, they'd do it here, where my new friends would be waiting. Whatever this work means to you, Solomon, it needs to be destroyed. There must never be another machine like the one I built. You're the only legacy I'm proud of, Sol. I hope you're a better man of science than I was. But I know . . . I know you're a better man_.

How touching.

After we listened to it, we did everything the doctor told Doc to do and destroyed the machine and all of the research with it. The cryptids helped us. Then we tied up the scientists together and delivered them to the nearest U.S. army area, Fort Jackson, leaving information in a file as to why they were brought there.

Then we went home.

Well, at least, to the Saturday's home.

I'm so glad that this day was over, and I hope that I would never have to see Zak, Komodo, and Fiskerton's DNAs mixed like that ever again.

That was just horrifying.

* * *

 **Little known fact: This episode first aired on my birthday.**

 **I hope you guys liked this chapter.**

 **Please review.**


	24. Something in the Water

**Zak's POV**

The cheetah cubs suddenly entered the control room of our airship laughing.

"What's so funny?" Raylee asked them.

"Sarah and Zack," Chewie said.

"Yeah," Toto said. "They're dressed up as a cowboy and a cowgirl."

"But Sarah overdid her outfit," Honey added.

"Sarah always overdoes her outfit," Raylee said.

"Wait," I said. "What do you mean? Why are they getting dressed up?"

"Well, since we're going to Africa to relocate an elephant-like cryptid, Sarah, Zack, and I are going to be riding Rapidashes, and they want to dress up for it whenever we ride them."

"Rapidashes?"

"Yeah. They're fish horse Pokémon.

"Oh, ok."

Sarah and Zack entered the room and I could see what they meant. Sarah was wearing a white tank top and skirt with a pink cover up, pink cowgirl shoes and cowgirl hat. Zack was dressed more like a modern cowboy: slacks, a vest, a button-up shirt with an old western tie, and brown cowboy shoes with a cowboy hat.

"Oh, you guys look so cute," Raylee said. "Can I take a quick picture?"

"Sure, Mom," Sarah said.

Raylee summoned a camera to her hands and Sarah and Zack did a pose together.

Raylee snapped the picture. "You should send a picture to Selena."

"We already did of Zack," Sarah said.

Then we heard a little noise that I didn't recognize.

"And that's probably her responding." Zack pulled out what looked like a kind of phone from his pocket.

He and Sarah looked at the screen of it.

"Well, that's true," Sarah said.

Zack stared at her.

She blushed. "Uh, let's pretend you didn't just hear me say that."

"Already have," Zack said.

She laughed nervously.

"What?" Raylee asked.

"Umm, well, I said we sent a picture of Zack just like this to Selena, and she responded saying he looks really hot and I agreed," Sarah said.

"Oh. That's disturbing to hear."

"I know."

Sarah and Zack acted awkward. Then I happened to notice that they both were wearing badges that had the word sheriff on them and their names.

"I didn't know girls could be sheriffs," I said.

They were confused as to why I said that, but then they seemed to remember their badges and glared at me.

"Do you have any idea how sexist that sounds?" Sarah asked.

I didn't answer that.

* * *

So Sarah, Zack, and their mom were riding fire horses, as they said they would, I was flying Zon, and Mom, Komodo, and Fiskerton were riding on Fiskerton's bike, dragging a big piece of meat behind them because the elephant cryptid was a carnivore, but Dad stayed on the airship and monitored all of us.

After a while, we were pretty close to where we wanted to relocate the cryptid, but we lost it.

"Wait. Where'd it go?" Mom asked. We had ear piece communicators. "We lost it? How did we lose a Grootslang? It's built like an elephant."

Zon and I were flying above them and around the perimeter.

"I don't see it either, Mom," I said. "The jungle's too thick."

"It's still moving," Dad said. "I show it nearly on top of you, Drew."

"Yeah," Raylee agreed. "We're right behind it and are herding it in your direction."

I looked down and noticed Komodo jumped onto the piece of meat and began eating it. Then the Grootslang appeared, with the Hollingers following behind it. Fiskerton began pedaling away and the Grootslang followed them, along with the rest of us.

Eventually we came to a watering hole and Mom cut the rope connected to the piece of meat with Komodo still on it. He slid into the mud and the Grootslang followed. Komodo would not give up the meat without a fight, so the Grootslang almost trampled him, but I came to his rescue by activating my powers.

"Hey, Jumbo," I said, getting a connection to it. "That's right. Just look around. Not bad, huh? Fresh air, clean water. Put in a TV and you've got yourself a home."

I slingshot the claw onto the piece of meat, the claw grabbed onto it, and I flung it on the other side of the river. The Grootslang went after it and it was gone. Komodo was not happy that he lost his meal.

I had Zon land us on the ground, then Raylee, Sarah, and Zack dismounted their Rapidashes, and Raylee put them back in their Poke balls. Dad came down from the airship.

"Very impressive control of your powers, Zak," he told me. "That was no small cryptid. He should be fine on this stretch of the Lilhola. No human settlements to bother or be bothered by for at least a hundred miles in each direction."

"Guess again," Raylee said.

We didn't know what she meant until we looked where she was looking. There were a few people on a motor boat on the river coming our way.

"Hello," a woman called to us from the boat. "Are you lost? Do you need assistance if your vehicle has broken down?"

"Uh, no," Mom said. "No thanks. We're ok. But, uh, how did—where did you—"

Looking past the people in the boat, we noticed what looked like a village down the river. That was a little unsettling.

"Does this mean we have to move the elephant again?" I asked.

* * *

We introduced ourselves to the people on the boat. The woman introduced herself as Sita, then she offered us a ride and tour of her village. We were happy to oblige.

"Uh, actually, we're going to go hunting," Amber said, referring to her and the other animals.

"Ok," Raylee said. "I'll come find you guys when we leave."

They nodded and ran off. We all climbed into the boat and sailed toward the village. The people there waved to us as we passed. We waved back.

"Cool," I said. "Pretty friendly town."

"Everyone's just excited to have visitors," Sita said. "As you can imagine, we don't get many here."

She brought the boat next to a dock, where a guy had grabbed a cord from it and plugged it into a switch on the dock, which I didn't think much about, and we all exited off onto the dock where a man was waiting to greet us.

"Mayor Joseph," Sita said. "May I present our guests. The Saturday and Hollinger family."

We greeted him.

"Hello, my friends, and welcome to Sanctuary II," he said. "Sita tells me you stumbled upon us thanks to some giant creature."

"I apologize for leading the Grootslang so close to your city," Dad said. "But, in our defense, you're not suppose to exist."

"We had hoped to keep our little secret for a few more years. But no apologies necessary. We didn't build Sanctuary II to escape nature, but to embrace it. Come, let me show you around."

And that's what he did.

"Years ago, a few dozen dreamers, experts in our various boot, came together to create a paradise," he explained. "Sanctuary I wasn't much more than a few house boats strung together, but you can see our progress. Everything we need: food, water, electricity, clothing, even building materials, the river provides. Nothing is wasted." The mayor walked up to a guy that tossed him a pillow, then he turned toward my dad. "Feel that."

He tossed him the pillow and Dad felt it.

"Oh," he said, seeming to like it. "Oh, yeah."

Yeah, I'd say he likes it too much for his own good. Sarah laughed. She probably just read my mind. I focused back on the village.

"This place is amazing," I said.

"Completely self-sustaining," Mom agreed. "No pollution. Yet, totally modern comfort. This city could be a model for the rest of the world."

The mayor chuckled. "Give us until Sanctuary III. Or IIII to work out all the kinks."

Then suddenly, the dock shook a couple times.

"That was a kink?" I asked.

The people around us each grabbed spears and stood at the edge of the dock, looking out onto the water.

"There!" the mayor said, pointing at two large yellow things that were poking out of the water.

"You're being attacked by fish?" I asked.

They threw their spears at them, but it didn't seem to effect them in any way.

"Drew?" Dad asked.

"Yep," she replied.

She ran off one way with Komodo and Zon, and Dad went another with me and Fiskerton. We were following one fish and it jumped onto the dock, breaking down the wood and dumping a few people into the river.

"No," the mayor said. "Get out of the water."

Fiskerton helped one of them out. I grabbed the claw and slingshot it to another guy and it grabbed onto him. I tried to pull him out, but he was heavy. The mayor helped me and we both were able to pull the guy out. Dad jumped into the water to help the other guy, but then I noticed the fish coming toward them.

"Dad, look out!" I called.

He noticed it too. He used his power glove and punched it away. We helped them out and ran back to where Mom and the rest of them were dealing with the other fish. They were swimming away.

"Do you have an ID yet?" Mom asked Dad.

"African Giant Catfish," he said. "They're called Lou."

"We already have a name for them," Sita said. "Devil fish."

The mayor sighed. "It seems every paradise must have one." He turned toward us. "Thank you. You saved several lives today."

"It's kind of what we do," I said. "Giant fish attacks are actually on the low end of the danger scale. What do you think, Fisk? C-? D+?"

He suggested it should be a little higher.

"You are clearly experts in this sort of thing. And Sanctuary II would be very generous if you would bring a more permanent solution to our devil fish problem."

We understood to what he was referring to, but we didn't exactly like it.

"Uh, Mr. Mayor, we're flattered, of course, but that is definitely not what we do," Mom said.

"We're talking about a substantial amount of money," he said. "Who doesn't need money?"

A thought came to mind. We don't need money, but I knew someone who did.

"We're scientists, Mr. Mayor. Not bounty hunters," Dad said. "But if you allow us to stay and study the Lou, we may be able to find a solution that benefits everyone. No charge."

"You want to _study_ what's trying to destroy us?" Sita asked in disbelief.

"A solution is a solution," the mayor said. "I accept your gracious offer, Dr. Saturday. But if you're going to stay in Sanctuary II, we must welcome you properly."

And that welcoming included a party.

I noticed Sarah and then realized something.

"Hey, why didn't you help us with the fish?" I asked.

She, Zack, and Raylee and her Pikachu seemed to be glaring at the people around us.

"We have our reasons," Sarah said without even looking at me.

"Oooook." I decided not to ask.

I ran off to make a call.

* * *

After making my call, I joined the party inside one of the cabins. Sarah, Zack, and Raylee were on the far side of the room, kind of zoning themselves out of the party. My parents were sitting with the mayor.

I decided to show everyone a few tricks with Zon. They enjoyed watching her. Then we heard some people yelling from outside and everyone went to see what was going on.

"Look! It's up in the sky!" one called.

We looked up and noticed someone flying toward us and he landed on the dock.

"Oh my God," Raylee said. "What the hell is he doing here?"

The person standing before us was Doyle.

"I hear this town needs a fisherman," he said.

My parents weren't happy to see him, either. They glared at me, as did Sarah and her family.

I smiled sheepishly, then waved at Doyle. "Hey, Uncle Doyle."

He saluted back at me.

* * *

We were back inside the cabin and Doyle was eating some of the food while the mayor was discussing their bargain.

"And you're certain you can get rid of the devil fish?" the mayor asked Doyle.

"Devil fish. Devil dogs. Deviled eggs," he replied. "You got money, I'll get rid of whatever devils you got."

"Mr. Mayor, this is not necessary," Dad argued. "We've already agreed to—"

"Dr. Saturday," he interrupted. "You are welcome to stay in Sanctuary II, but _not_ to tell me how to run it."

"And you, mister, just got your video phone privileges revoked," Mom told me.

"Why?" I asked. "Doyle needs the money. And he already promised not to hurt the Lou. All he's gotta do is move them some place else like we did with the Grootslang."

"There wasn't a bounty on the Grootslang," Dad said. "Right and wrong gets slippery when you're on someone's payroll."

"Dang," Doyle said. "Well, I had no idea this would bug you so much. For that, you get a ten percent discount."

"Great!" I said. "So what time can we pick up our boat in the morning—"

Dad grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back. "Not a chance."

I looked at Doyle. He smiled at me apologetically and shrugged.

I pouted and crossed my arms.

* * *

We all stayed in one cabin together. I woke up just before dawn and got ready. Doyle and I managed to make plans to go capture the catfish very early the next day.

I began tiptoeing across the room, but the floor boards kept creaking with every step I made. Nobody seemed to wake up from it, but I didn't want to take any chances. I climbed up the poles on my bed and jumped from one pole to another on the other beds, but it was really hard to keep my balance. I jumped to another pole and lost my footing.

I fell toward the ground above Komodo. But before I could land on Komodo, someone grabbed my arms and pulled me up. It was Sarah. She was hanging upside down from a beam near the ceiling and Fiskerton was awake next to her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked me.

"I think you already know," I whispered.

"Oh, I do because I know you, Zak. I'm surprised your parents don't suspect that you're going to do this and not keep an eye on you, even while you're sleeping."

"I'm just as surprised as you are. But what are you going to do? Tell them?"

"Not if you let me come along."

Fiskerton grunted.

"Not if you let _us_ come along," she corrected.

I stared at her in disbelief. "You actually want to come along, even though you don't really like Doyle?"

"Yes. But I also don't trust the people here."

"Why?"

"I sense something wrong about them, and I have a feeling that it involves those catfish, but I don't know how or why and I need to find out."

"Ok. Let's go then."

Sarah flew the both of us to the door and Fiskerton climbed his way to it. We exited the cabin and met up with Doyle, who was preparing the boat on the dock. He saw us coming, but frowned when he noticed Sarah and Fiskerton.

He looked at me. "What?"

"We bring them along, they don't tattle," I said.

He sighed. "Get in the boat."

And that we did. Doyle turned on the motor and we were off.

He had a satchel full of stuff and I was going through it. I pulled one thing out at a time and Doyle named each one of them. I grabbed one particular thing and I practically admired it.

Doyle took it out of my hands. "Yeah, uh, I'll be handling the tech. You can start chubbing."

He had also brought fish bait.

"Are you serious?" I asked. "Spooning fish guts? Why me?"

"Because I'm tired of telling Fisk not to— Hey! Fur ball! Out of the chum!"

Fisk was eating it, but tried to pretend he wasn't by hiding it behind his back.

Sarah laughed. "Come on, Zak."

She pulled me near the edge of the boat, took the bait out of Fisk's hands, and gave it to me. I sighed, then took the bait and began pouring spoonfuls of it over the side.

"So, this is fishing," I muttered.

I poured some more, then one of the catfishes jumped out of the water. We had set up a fishing pole and the line to it was being pulled on.

"We'll be home by breakfast time," Doyle said, then he began to reel it in. Or tried to.

The boat began to move.

"Strong fish," Doyle said.

Well, it is really big.

The boat made a 360 turn, then the catfish with the line in its mouth jumped over the boat, and it stopped.

"It ran the line into the motor," Doyle said.

Then the line wrapped around the four of us, tying us together.

"Smart fish," I said.

"Yeah, you're telling me," Sarah agreed.

"Ok, we may miss breakfast," Doyle said.

"Who the hell cares whether we miss breakfast or not?"

"I do."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."

She unsheathed her sword and cut the line from around us.

Doyle began fixing the motor. It took him a while, but he eventually got it.

"Engine's back," he said. "Let's go find those two chum suckers."

"We don't have to," Sarah said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because they already found us."

Just as she said that, we saw the two catfish coming straight for us. And fast. They jumped out of the water.

"Grab something," Doyle said. "Now!"

He picked me up and threw me toward the ladder. Fiskerton had grabbed hold of it, then of me and Sarah. But Doyle wasn't so lucky.

The fish had landed halfway on the boat, causing it to tip their way. Water was on the deck, which caused Doyle to slip and slid halfway into one of the catfishes' mouth.

"Doyle!" I called.

Sarah and I grabbed hold of the ladder while Fiskerton grabbed hold of Doyle with his feet and pulled him out of the catfish's mouth. He was covered in its saliva.

"That's just yuck," he said.

I climbed up the ladder and went to the controls, moving the boat forward and getting the catfishes off of it.

"Alright, Zak," Doyle said. "Let them catch up to us."

I stopped the boat. Doyle and Fiskerton put sonic lures over the side and the catfishes went to them.

"Let me hold them still for you," I said, grabbing the claw and activating my powers.

"I've got the 'holding still' covered," Doyle said, holding up a tech, aiming it at one of the catfishes, and shot a net onto it.

Fiskerton cheered.

"Fisk, you're supposed to be watching the other—" Doyle started, but was interrupted when the other catfish swam into the boat, knocking Fiskerton into the water.

"Hold on, Fisk," I called out to him. "I'm coming around."

I turned the boat toward him, but the catfish wasn't done with him yet and swam for him. He screamed and swam away as fast as he could.

Sarah was laughing. I guess I had to admit that his scream was a little funny.

Doyle threw a net onto the catfish, stopping it in its tracks.

"Alright, Doyle!" I said.

Fiskerton got back on the boat, and Doyle tied the catfishes to the side of the boat. Then he grabbed something from his satchel.

"Ok, relax," he told one of the catfishes. "It's just a little nighty-night tranquili—"

He touched the catfish and was immediately zapped with electricity. He fell to the floor, a little paralyzed.

I was surprised by that. Fiskerton helped him up.

"Doyle, you ok?" I asked.

He rubbed his head. "Yeah. Just surprised me." He walked up to the catfish again. "Two words: lemon and butt—"

He stomped on it and it shocked him again.

"My God," Sarah said. "How many times are you going to do that before you realize you should stop doing that?"

He didn't answer. Mostly because he was too shocked.

"Gigantic, and they make their own electricity?" I said. "You think Mom and Dad know about this?"

"Not yet," Sarah said.

She climbed up to where the controls were and turned us back toward the village. About ten minutes later, we were coming close to the village, and I noticed my parents and the mayor standing on the dock. We sounded the horn to get their attention.

"Guess what?" I called to them. "They make their own electricity. Cool, huh?"

My parents didn't look happy.

"What?"

* * *

After we had docked, we got off the boat and joined our families. They seemed to be arguing with the mayor.

"I told you, the river gives us all we need," the mayor said. "The giant devil fish is our power source, and the mother of those two."

He gestured to the catfishes still tied to the boat. I couldn't believe what I just heard.

"Stealing a fish mom and sucking the life out of her?" I said. "That's your paradise?"

I was angry, and Dad held me back. But I wasn't the only one.

"I knew there was something bad about you people," Sarah said.

"Imagine a world of electrical power with no ecological damage," the mayor said. "Crystal clear water. Unpolluted air."

"That's a lot to ask from one fish," Mom said.

"One fish that lays a thousand eggs. We already have over two-hundred pre-orders. Where do you think we get the money to pay a mercenary fisherman?"

We looked at Doyle.

"Uh, yeah, I wasn't gonna say anything," he said. "But since you brought it up."

Sita handed him a satchel full of cash.

I was mad. "Doyle."

He turned and looked at me. "What?"

"What do you mean 'What?' This is animal cruelty. We can't just let them do this."

"Of course he can," Dad said. "As long as they're paying, you'll do whatever they ask, right? Isn't that what you said, Doyle? This is exactly what I tried to warn you about."

Doyle sighed. "Sorry I can't stick around, Zakman. But I don't need a money lecture from the guy who inherited his family fortune. Have fun with your fish."

And he took off.

Sita had a spear with her and she and the mayor walked up to the catfishes.

"I am sorry about this," the mayor told them. "But you can't have a paradise without some sacrifice. Sita."

She walked up to the catfish and held out her spear, but before she could pierce it, I stopped her.

"No," I said, getting between her and the catfishes and activating my powers. "Let them go."

"Young man," Mayor Joseph said. "You and your family are guests in our city. And if you can't abide by our laws, perhaps it is time you left while we're all still friends."

More people appeared with spears and surrounded us.

"My son asked you to release the Lou," Dad said. Then we all got our weapons ready. "I suggest you listen to him . . . while we're all still friends."

"I see," Mayor Joseph said, then clapped his hands.

Everyone with spears pressed buttons on the side of them and the blades began sparkling with electricity.

"Electrical weapons," Mayor Joseph said. "Not much use against devil fish. But I'm sure they'll be more effective on you."

They advanced on us.

"Nature always haves winners and losers," Mayor Joseph continued. "Last chance to choose sides."

"Ok, I'm confused," Mom said. "Which side do you think you're on, 'cause we'll take the opposite."

We smiled at that. But that just seemed to make the people mad.

"Fire!" Mayor Joseph said.

Electricity shot out of their spears, but Raylee was quick. She summoned a force field around us, keeping the electricity from getting through. Then the fighting began.

We just kept knocking them away, one after another. One guy slashed down his spear at me from behind, but I sensed it and deflected it with the claw.

"I can't believe you even tried that," I told him.

"And I can't believe you're fighting electric weapons with a metal stick," he retorted.

To prove what he meant, the electricity from his spear seeped down it and when it came into contact with the claw, it shocked it and me, and I stumbled back.

Sarah hi-jump-kicked the guy away from me.

More guys came at us, some of them even had tasers, but we were able to fight them back.

We heard some explosions all around us and we noticed Doyle throwing grenades at some of the buildings. I was glad to see him, even Sarah seemed to be as well.

"Well, I guess that proves he has somewhat of a heart," she said.

He landed next to us.

"Doyle!" I said.

"What do you need, miniman?" he asked.

"Get me to the boat. Somebody's waited long enough for a family reunion."

He picked me up and we flew toward the boat. Sarah followed close behind, leaving both of our families to continue the fight without us. Once we got to the boat, I used the claw to cut the ropes off around the catfishes. Then I activated my powers, getting a connection to them.

"Let's go see momma," I said.

I took a deep breath and Sarah and I jumped into the water.

We noticed a big catfish in a container-like cage and swam to it, with the other catfishes following. There was some kind of door on the side of the contained and me and Sarah opened it.

The mother catfish wrapped its whiskers around us. At first, I thought she was going to eat us, but then I realized that she was just thanking us.

Sarah and I smiled. We grabbed each other's hand and swam back to the surface.

"Everybody out of the water!" I called.

We climbed back onto the dock. And as soon as we did, the catfishes sent an electric shock all across the city. Then they began destroying the buildings.

"Come on, people," Mom said. "Time to evacuate!"

They ran to the boats and we were escorting them all onto them. Then we got on ourselves and moved away while watching the catfishes destroy what was left of their city.

"Looks like there won't be a Sanctuary III," I said.

"No," Mayor Joseph said. "We can . . . we'll rebuild. We—we still have the money from—"

"Hey, I got you the fish," Doyle said.

The mayor frowned.

* * *

My parents let the people get on the airship to help them find some other place to live. They were all in the back while the rest of us were in the control room.

Raylee had whistled her pets back from hunting. Apparently, their super hearing reaches farther than people who have super hearing themselves. Probably because they had better hearing before anyway.

"Think it's safe having them on the airship?" I asked.

"Their city just got destroyed," Dad said. "If it were me, I'd be grateful for a ride back to civilization. A chance to figure out how to start over the right way."

Raylee sighed heavily. "I suppose you're right."

"Uh, hey, so speaking of starting over," Doyle said. "I shouldn't have left you guys alone back—"

"I'm sorry," Dad said to him, which surprised all of us, even Doyle himself.

"Uh, I'm pretty new at apologizing, but is this how it's suppose to work?" he asked.

"I've been giving you a hard time since we met. And it's time I stopped. As much as I disagree with your methods, your mercenary lifestyle, the way you leave half-eaten nachos on my carpet—"

"Ok, now this really _isn't_ how it's suppose to work," Mom interrupted.

"You're family," Dad continued. "And if you wanna come back, we could use the help."

"Doyle's coming back!" I cheered.

"Whoa, whoa, hey. Put the party on hold, miniman," he said. "I'm not coming back."

"But . . ."

"I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I'm kinda getting used to running my own show. Turns out I like my alone time. That and all the filthy corrupting money."

"Yeah, you would," Raylee agreed.

"I'll see you around, family. Oh, and miniman, gorilla cat, don't think I forgot about your cut of the bounty money. I'll send you guys a motorcycle or something."

And he left the room.

"Yes!" I said.

But my mom didn't like it.

"Hey, hey, no," Mom said to Doyle through the intercom to outside. "You are not giving an eleven-year-old a motorcycle."

He appeared in front of the window, flying on his jetpack. "I said 'or something'. By the way, Zak. What size jetpack do you wear?"

Before I could reply, he flew off. I thought that was almost as good as a motorcycle, but my parents didn't think it was any better.

"Hey, what about my cut?" Sarah asked.

"Do you care?" Zack asked.

"No, not really. I just didn't want him to leave me out, since I was there."

"Well, at least he's starting to change for the better," Raylee said. "But he's still got a long way to go."

My parents nodded in agreement.

We dropped off the people in some other country in Africa, then we headed home.

* * *

 **Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter.**

 **Please review.**


	25. Target: Fiskerton

**Zak's POV**

The training course wasn't hard for me to do. Fighting Dad, on the other hand, difficult, but not impossible.

He was fighting against me while wearing a helmet and using a spear and I was using the claw. I deflected each of his hits, but he managed to hold me against a tree.

"Weaponless against an enemy you can't influence with your powers," he said. "What are you gonna do now?"

I would like to point out first that if I could influence my dad with my powers it would be very weird and yet kind of cool.

"Improvise?" I suggested, answering his question, though it sounded more like a question than an answer.

I got myself free from his hold and I began running away from him.

"Me too," he said, then hit me in the back with his spear, knocking me into the bushes.

I lost.

Sarah, Zack, Fiskerton, and Komodo were watching us, and they came over to comfort me.

"It's ok," Sarah said. "You'll beat him next time."

I wasn't so sure of that, but I was grateful that she was there for me. Fiskerton even tried to comfort me.

"He's not done yet, Fiskerton," Dad said.

That surprised me.

"What?" I asked. "You said five times on the training course and then I was done for the day."

"It only counts if you beat helmet head," he said. "You're still at four."

"Are you serious? But Fisk spent all afternoon building this huge Fisker-track ramp down by the river. It's suppose to be . . . not dangerous at all."

Dad took off his helmet, and he had a serious look on his face.

"Here it comes," Sarah said.

And she was probably right.

"You know what's at stake here, Zak," Dad told me. "Argost has already opened Kur's tomb. If that leads him to Kur itself, we could be facing an entire army of cryptids under Argost's control. Your power may be the only thing that can stop Kur. That makes you a target, and I will do anything I have to do to make sure you're safe."

Yeah, that's bound to make me feel bad.

Fiskerton asked me if he could go to his track without me.

"I guess if it's too important to wait for me, then—"

He didn't wait until I was finished and ran off. I sighed.

* * *

Back inside our house, we all were in a room, watching a news report on TV in Switzerland. Something about a cryptid.

"The tiny Swiss town has been evacuated after these strange jets of flame burst from the lake," the news reporter was saying. "Officials claim the culprit is a ruptured natural gas deposit, but locals disagree. They say there's something else down there. Something alive."

"The Buratsche-al-ilgs?" Dad suggested.

"The story just tripped our news tracker," Mom said, then walked up to Dad in an odd way. "I thought you'd be interested enough to interrupt combat training."

I wanted to gag. She was getting all romantic.

"Ok, is this what I have to look forward to when I fall in love?" I asked. "Getting romantic over ruptured gas?"

"I've gotta agree with Zak, there," Sarah said. "Really?"

"The Buratsche-al-ilgs is a Swiss cryptid, Zak," Mom explained. "It's suppose to look like a glob of human tissue surrounded by flame shooting eyes."

"Your mother and I tracked it all through the Alps for our honeymoon," Dad added.

"So what? It came back?" I asked.

"Well, we never found it," Mom said. "Got close a few times, but no actual sighting."

"Wait. You never found it? Then it's like you never finished your honeymoon. We should drop everything and go looking for it right now while we still know where it is."

"It's a good idea, Doc," Mom agreed. "Aside from the romance. I'm sure that town could use our help."

"What? And miss the rest of our training?" he asked.

"It's a sacrifice, but sometimes it hurts to do the right thing," I said, with a little sarcasm.

He agreed to go. So we all got into our airship and went to that tiny Swiss town.

* * *

After a little while, we arrived and the town was deserted.

"Ok, ghost towns, best places ever," I said.

Fiskerton called out in a loud voice and there was an echo.

"People do live here, boys," Mom said. "And I'm sure they'd like to come home as soon as it's safe."

"That's where we come in," Dad said.

She grabbed his hand and they continued walking. Fiskerton seemed confused.

"Don't ask," I told him. "Trust me."

"I think it's cute." Raylee said.

"You would think that's cute," Sarah said.

She looked at me. I think that I may be letting my parents romance with each other ruin my romance with Sarah. I don't know why, but I just find it kind of awkward with her right now.

We followed my parents down to the lake. We looked out onto it, but didn't see anything.

"If there's nothing here, I don't have to go back to training, do I?" I asked.

Just as I said that, a cryptid arose from the middle of the lake. It looked . . . ugly.

"Wow," Mom said. "That is a lot less romantic in person."

"Yeah," Dad agreed.

It shot fire at us from its eyes. We moved to dodge it.

"Fan out!" Dad called. "Divide the attention of those eyes."

We did that and, well, the rest is probably obvious. We could hardly dodge any of its fire attacks. Mom blocked one using her fire sword.

"It's keeping pace," she said. "Zak, try your powers."

I tried them. Once they activated, I sensed something wrong immediately. It shot fire at me from one of its eyes and barely dodged it.

"Zak, pay attention," Dad told me.

"I am," I said. "It's just . . . that thing's not a cryptid."

"Are you sure?" Mom asked. "Maybe it's just too strong for your powers."

"No. It's just . . . nothing."

"He's right," Sarah agreed. "I can't feel anything to it with my aura."

The fake cryptid shot fire at me again. Dad pulled me next to him and used his power glove to stop the fire from touching us.

"It's . . . something," he said.

Komodo somehow managed to get on top of it and bite its skin. Zon did the same thing with her talons and it fell into the water next to the shore. The weird thing was, there were pieces of it all around it, but it wasn't pieces of its skin.

"Mechanical?" Mom asked, surprised.

"Why would anyone build a fake cryptid?" Dad asked.

"Because half of fishing is using dried bait," a voice replied from behind us.

We turned around and saw Van Rook along with Piecemeal, which surprised me and the rest of us.

"Now for the other half," Van Rook said. He pulled out a sword from behind his back and they advanced on us. "Beautiful town, Drew. This could've been our honeymoon."

"Hmm, thanks for the perspective," Mom replied sarcastically. "Suddenly a giant stomach with a hundred eyes doesn't seem quite so disgusting."

I wanted to gag once I realized what they were talking about.

"Whoa, Mom," I said. "You almost married Van Rook?"

"No, n-no!" she said, looking embarrassed. "I didn't almost— We dated a few times in college. I-I didn't know he was— We are not talking about this right now."

Raylee couldn't seem to help but laugh.

"Well, can we talk about why Van Rook and Piecemeal are working together?" I asked. "Is that not weird to anybody else?"

"It is to me," Zack said.

"It's Argost," Dad said. "He's the only one who would've brought these two maniacs together."

"Of course, that's the easy part," Van Rook said. "The question that must be driving you nuts is why."

He blasted some grenades at us and Piecemeal charged. Dad grabbed him and threw him back, letting the grenades hit him instead of us. Mom shot fire from her fire sword and I slingshot the claw at Van Rook, but he dodged them using his jet pack and took flight.

We started running away from them, but it wasn't easy. Van Rook shot grenades at us, and we barely missed any of them. Mom shot another fire ball at him, but he dodged it again.

"We can take these guys, Dad," I said. "Why don't we just stay and fight?"

"Until we know what Argost's move is, all I care about is keeping you safe," he replied.

A moment later, I noticed that Fiskerton had managed to jump on to Van Rook and knock him to the ground.

"Fisk!" I called.

"Zak, wait!" Mom called, but I didn't listen.

Fiskerton and Van Rook stood a few feet from each other. Van Rook grabbed out his multivolo and started swinging it, planning to tie up Fisk in it.

"Are you really going to make it this easy?" he asked.

I didn't know what he meant, but I didn't care right then. I slingshot the claw at his hand and knocked the multivolo out of it. Zon flew down out of the sky, grabbed Van Rook with her talons, lifted him into the air, and dropped him onto the roof of the building next to us.

"Alright, that's one down," I said, helping Fiskerton up. "Come on. Let's go help Mom and Dad with—"

We were suddenly blasted with fire. Once I regained my footing, I noticed where it came from.

"The fake cryptid," I said. "It's still working."

It started blasted fire at me from its many eyes. Fisk pulled me aside before one could hit me. Then he picked me up and started running away from it. Van Rook stopped us in our path.

"Sorry," he said. "Nobody leaves the party until Argost gets his goody bag."

I still had no idea what he meant.

Mom stuck her fire sword in the ground, causing a kind of fire shield to emerge from around her and expand out, knocking Van Rook away. He landed on the ground, and his grenades shot out. They hit the fake cryptid and knocked it to the ground.

"Mom! Dad!" I called.

"Just get to the airship," Dad said. "We'll hold them off and catch up."

"But this doesn't make sense. I know why Argost would be after me, but Piecemeal? He eats cryptids."

"I don't care about cryptids right now."

The fake cryptid shot fire at us again and we took cover.

"Fiskerton," Dad called. "I'm trusting you to protect Zak. Whatever it takes, you have to get him to safety."

"I don't need a babysit—" I began, but was interrupted when Fisk grabbed me and jumped away.

Piecemeal then appeared right where we were standing a moment ago.

"Whoa," I said.

"Run!" Dad said.

"Sarah, Zack, you should probably go with them," Raylee said. "We'll see you later."

They nodded.

I wanted to argue, but I knew it was pointless. So Fiskerton took me away and Sarah and Zack went with us while the others stayed and fight. Fiskerton carried me from roof to roof and I was fighting for him to let me go.

"Hey, let me—," I tried. "Just listen to me."

He put me down on the roof.

"We have to go back and help them."

Fisk shook his head.

"I know what they said, but I don't have to be protected all the time."

Fiskerton did some kind of mocking charade and bowed to me.

"What? You think I like being treated like this?" I asked. "Some secret weapon everyone has to keep safe?"

He crossed his arms.

"Then maybe you should try it for once. See what it feels like to have Mom and Dad thinking everybody's coming after you."

"We know what you're saying, Zak," Sarah said.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "I mean, we've never felt like that before because our mom doesn't treat us like we can't take care of ourselves, but we've seen it before and we don't like it, and neither does our mom."

"But you have to also understand that your parents care about you. It's their job to keep you safe, and they'll do whatever they can to make sure that happens."

"Yeah, I've already heard that," I said.

Then Piecemeal appeared on the ground below and ripped apart the gutters on the house we were on top of, causing the tiles to slip off. We began running up the roof to keep from falling, but couldn't. Fiskerton grabbed me and threw me up in the air. I didn't know how that would've helped.

The good news: someone caught me before I could land on the concrete. The bad news: that someone was Van Rook. He flew off with him holding on to me. He took me away to a train near the town and threw me into it, and I hit my head on the floor. Then the train moved.

I rubbed my head and stood up. I noticed Van Rook sitting in a chair with his arms crossed.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Waiting for the rest," he replied.

Then the roof of the train opened up and Fiskerton, Sarah, and Zack jumped down into the room. But then Piecemeal broke in through the side.

"And now it's a complete set," Van Rook said, standing up from his chair. "With a few extra pieces. Keep them here while I deal with this, and keep your slobbering mouth to yourself."

He turned on his jet pack and flew out of the hole in the roof.

"No promises," Piecemeal said, turning on us.

He jumped on top of Fiskerton. Sarah and Zack grabbed onto him and threw him back outside from where he came in.

"Nice," I said.

"Thanks," they both said in unison.

"Come on. Let's stop this train."

I ran to the end of it and was confused but what I saw. Or didn't see.

"Uh, guys," I said. "Why doesn't this engine have any controls?"

"Maybe it's those kind of trains that move automatically?" Zack suggested.

Sarah stared at him. "What? Do those kind of trains exist?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe?"

She rolled her eyes, then looked at me. "Any ideas?"

I thought for a moment.

"The break wire." I turned toward Fiskerton. "Rip up some of the floor."

He did as I told him. There were a lot of wires.

Fisk asked me which one.

"I don't know which one's the break wire," I said. "I assumed they'd be labeled or something."

"But they're not," Zack said.

Then Piecemeal appeared behind the wiring.

"Argost doesn't control me," he said.

Sarah saved us by kicking him back out the side.

"He better stay out there this time if he knows what's good for him," she said.

"Thank you, my dear," a voice said behind us. "I thought I would have to shock him with my neural parasite, but you saved me the trouble."

We turned around and saw Argost talking to us through a TV screen.

"Quit playing games, Argost," I told him. "You want me, come get me."

"As much as it temps me to throw away weeks of planning to respond to a schoolyard taunt, here's my counter offer," he said. "This train is moments away from a very painful dead end. I would be thrilled to stop it if the Fiskerton Phantom surrenders to me in the next car."

Suddenly, the door in front of us opened. Fiskerton seemed to be considering it.

"I promise the boy will be safe," Argost assured him. "He's the important one, right?"

"Don't listen to him, Fisk," I said. "It's a trick. We're brothers. We'll get out of this together."

"He's right," Sarah agreed.

"Is anyone receiving?" someone asked. "Come in! Is anyone receiving? Come in!"

We turned back to the screen and my dad suddenly appeared on it. At least, I thought it was him, but I wasn't sure. Fisk called to him.

"Fiskerton, is Zak ok?" he asked.

Can he not see me?

Fiskerton looked like he had made up his mind.

"Fisk, wait. Listen," I tried, but he made a bolt for the door. "No!"

It closed automatically when he passed and I couldn't open it. The TV screen went blank.

Sarah placed a hand on my shoulder. "Move."

She and Zack summoned fire to their hands and blasted the door, then kicked it, and it opened. They did the same thing to the other door that I saw Fisk go behind

We ran into the room, but it was empty. Then we looked out the window to the other door and saw Fiskerton having a tight hold onto Argost and Munya with Munya using his web and keeping them with the train.

I almost couldn't believe my eyes. He managed to get them to stop the train just before it hit the dead end.

"Alright, Fisk," I cheered. "You did it! Now come on. Let's go before those two—"

"Zak," Sarah said, sounding worried.

I looked back out the window and saw Fisk lying on the ground. Munya picked him up, then he and Argost went down a tunnel.

"No!" I screamed. "Fisk, I'm sorry. I take it back. I don't want you to be the target. Fisk, I'm coming."

They disappeared out of sight.

"Fisk! Fisk!"

I grabbed the claw and began pounding on the door with it. Sarah and Zack helped me. It took us about two minutes because of the web, but we were too late.

When we got out, headlights started coming our way and I noticed the other part of the train. It stopped a few feet away from us and our parents exited out of it.

"Zak, oh, you're alright," Mom said.

"We did it, Zak," Dad said. "We beat Argost. You're safe."

They both gave me a hug.

"Wait," Dad said, looking at us. "Where's Fiskerton?"

"He did what you told him to, Dad," I said, tears streaking down my face. "He protected me."

Sarah gave me a comforting hug.

I just couldn't believe my brother was gone.

* * *

 **Aww. How sad for Zak. Nothing really different in this one, and I don't think anything else will be different in the next one either.**

 **Please review.**


	26. Once More the Nightmare Factory

**Zak's POV**

We all were standing in front of Weird World. Me, my family, and the Hollingers. We were going to save Fiskerton. Sure, it was suicide, considering how dangerous this place was, but we were going to save him if it was the last thing we did. We were not going to leave without him.

"Huh," I said, looking up at it through binoculars. "It looks bigger on TV."

"This isn't a mission for jokes, Zak," Dad said. "Eleven years ago, your mother and I broke into Weird World to get the Kur Stone back. We lost over half the membership of the Secret Scientists in that assault."

"I know the story, Dad. I was just trying to break the tension."

"Tension might be what keeps you alive, kiddo," Mom said. "You gotta be on guard every second you're in there."

"If you can't take this seriously, I don't want you anywhere near this nightmare factory," Dad said.

"Dad, I know," I said. "It's not some mystic rock this time, it's Fisk. I'm taking this seriously, and none of us are going home without him."

"Alright then. Let's talk about our infiltration—"

He was interrupted when Mom suddenly broke down the front gate using her fire sword.

"It's not like he doesn't know we're coming," she said, then ran toward the door.

"Well, she's right about that," Raylee said.

We followed closely behind Mom.

* * *

We got inside and I didn't hear any alarms go off. We walked forward cautiously with our weapons in hand, ready for anything that was going to attack us at any moment.

"On the show, it looked like Fisk was being held in some kind of dungeon," Mom said, referring to an episode of Weird World that aired after Argost had captured Fisk. "I don't remember one from last time, but I guess—"

"Second basement, main hall, fourth door on the right, down one floor," I said like I was a GPS. "There's a stone staircase on your left."

Everyone stared at me.

"I talked Uncle Doyle into getting me a model of Weird World for all the birthdays he missed," I explained.

My parents didn't look happy about that.

"What? You're gonna get mad about it now when it's useful?"

"Nice," Zack said.

"It's kind of cool," Sarah admitted. "I looked at it myself, but it's hard to remember where something is and how to get to it."

"Careful," Dad said. "Nothing we've faced can prepare you for Weird World. There are things here I hoped I'd never see again. Things so horrible—"

"Guys!" Sarah said frantically.

I noticed a fuzzy creature run across the room in front of us. It was hopping around.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "You almost gave me a heart attack over a sheep dog?"

"Oh, great, Zak," Sarah said. "Now you made it angry by calling it a sheep dog."

"Isn't that what it is?"

"Nooooo."

"Then what is it?"

It walked between us like it wasn't angry and just happy that we were here. That is, until, he came into Komodo's path. He rose his claw to attack it.

"Komodo, no!" Mom called.

Too late.

His claw came close and the sheep dog attacked back. It stuck its head out and needles sprouted from its fur and began shooting them at Komodo. He managed to knock down a small table that was next to him and use it as a shield, but he kept jumping around the furniture and it followed.

Eventually, he came near us. We began running around the room and used furniture as shields. Sarah was right: it wasn't a sheep dog.

"What is that thing?" I asked.

"I don't know," Mom said. "That's exactly the point. Don't trust anything in this mansion."

The creature had stopped shooting needles for a moment and walked around our shields to find us.

"I got it," I said.

I slingshot the claw behind me and it grabbed onto a couch. I pulled it in front of us, blocking the creature.

"Let's go!"

"Zak, wait!" Dad called.

Too late. Again.

I slingshot the claw onto the door knob of a door a few feet away from us and, as soon as it grabbed onto it, a jolt of electricity shot out of it, through the claw, and onto me. The shock hit me like lightning.

My mom managed to get the claw out of my hand and I collapsed to the ground.

"Zak. Zak! Talk to me!" Mom said while holding me.

Sarah came over, looking worried.

"That wasn't on the model," I said slowly, breathing hard.

Sarah laughed halfheartedly. "You really think that something like that would be on a model?"

I managed a smile. She kissed me on the cheek, which was a little embarrassing since my mom was holding me.

"This door is the exit," Dad said, gesturing to the one that zapped me. "I remember it from last time."

"You don't think he's remodeled in eleven years?" Mom asked.

He didn't answer. He put his hand on the door nob, but, unfortunately, it didn't shock him like it did to me. (Yes, it's unfortunate, because it wasn't fair.) He opened the door and a strong gust of wind blew in.

We moved behind a couch, which was where the creature was, and it looked about ready to shoot needles at Zon. I grabbed the claw and activated my powers.

"Everybody ok?" I asked.

Zon taunted the creature.

"Easy, Zon. I'm barely holding that thing back. It's pretty angry."

Mom and Dad got the door closed.

"Then let's not push our luck with another door," Mom said, unsheathing her fire sword and blasting it at a wall.

"Let's go!" Dad said.

I deactivated my powers and we all ran through the hole in the wall.

I looked back and noticed that a lot of bugs had appeared and began putting the furniture back where they were and they were even fixing the wall. Eventually, the wall closed up and it looked as if it were never blasted to pieces. I thought it was weird and cool at the same time.

We entered another room that about half the size of the last one.

"Stay close," Dad said. "This house isn't done with us yet."

He took a step forward and someone appeared out of a small part of the wall and tackled him. Dad managed to get him off of him and they had a little stand off.

I recognized the person. "Uncle Doyle!"

"Miniman," he said. "It's about time the rest of the rescue party showed up."

"How did you know—" Mom began, but he interrupted.

"Saw the new Weird World episode. No big secret who was growling behind that dungeon door."

"Uh-huh," Dad said, not sounding convinced. "So you were just hanging out, watching our archenemy's TV show . . ."

"Hey, it's good TV," Doyle protested. "Oh. Are we doubting Uncle Doyle's loyalties now?"

"Not at all . . . if this really _is_ Uncle Doyle and not another Weird World trick."

"Dad!" I exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Doyle asked.

Even Mom had to agree. "What, he's a clone? Pod Doyle? Since when is Argost capable of—"

"We don't know _what_ Argost is capable of," Dad interrupted. "You don't think it's suspicious that Doyle just happens to run into us on Argost's home turf?"

All of a sudden, Amber and Shillow jumped onto Dad and Doyle and knocked them to the ground. We didn't understand why they did that until a sharp metal blade fell right where they both were standing not a moment ago.

"Whoa," they both said and stood up from the ground.

"Oh my God," Raylee said. "Nice quick action, you two."

"Hey, it's what we do," Amber replied.

Dad looked at Doyle. "Truce?"

He held out his hand.

"Done," Doyle replied and shook his hand.

"Let's go."

We ran into another room and, long short story, we all got tied up by blood sucking vines. Luckily, since Raylee had her powers, she summoned fire to burn the vines away and to the ones from hurting us. We all exited the room through a door and closed it behind us to keep the alive vines from following.

We all were breathing hard.

"Ok, that was dumb," Doyle said. "We can't go running around all in a pack. We're too large a target. We need to split into teams of two, smaller, quicker. I'll go with—"

"No," Dad interrupted. "That's how this place got us last time. We split up, and it picked us off one by one."

"But, Dad," I argued. "It makes sense to—"

"This family is staying together."

Doyle wouldn't except that. "Then I'll race you to Fisk."

"Doyle, wait!" Mom called after him, but he was already running.

When he got about fifteen feet away, apart of the wall came out suddenly on his right and smashed him into the wall on his left. I don't know why, but Raylee started laughing.

"Uh, what's so funny about that?" Zack asked her.

"Just how he said he would race us and he got stopped by that not five seconds later," she replied between fits of laughter.

"Ok," Sarah said, not really sure what to say about it. "And why do you find that funny?"

"Because I do. You know how easily I can laugh."

Sarah and Zack shrugged.

We focused back on the situation.

"Doyle!" I called.

We ran to the thing and pulled it back from the wall, which didn't take long thanks to the Hollingers super strength. We pulled it back just a few feet at first and I looked through the opening.

"Doyle!" I called again. "He's ok."

There was apparently another hallway on the other side of the wall he was crushed into.

"Really?" he asked while rubbing his head.

"Hold on," Mom told him. "We'll get you out of there."

Spoke too soon, again. The bugs from before appeared out of nowhere and began repairing the damaged wall.

"What the . . ." Dad said.

"Hurry!" I said. "He's getting closed in."

We began to pull on the thing again, but the bugs were faster.

"I'm still racing you to Fisk," Doyle said just before the bugs closed up the hole completely.

"Cool," I said. "We should storm this place again when we don't have someone to rescue. You know, so we can really take it all in."

"Zak . . ." Dad said.

"I know, but the jokes make me feel better. It's what I do."

He sighed. "I'm not asking this for you, Zak. It's for me. Our last mission here was a fiasco. I blame myself for that. I just don't want it to happen again, not to my own family. I don't think I can take that."

We all were sympathetic.

"I know what you're saying, Doc," Raylee said. "I've lost parts of my family before because of me and I wouldn't want it to happen again either. But I do agree with Doyle, though. We need to split up. We are way too big a target."

Dad was about to protest again, but she held up her hand to stop him.

"You stay with your family. I'll stay with mine. But, Sarah, you can stay if you'd like. They might need an Immortal's help."

"Don't you think a more experienced Immortal should help them?" she asked.

"You'll become more experienced if you stay. But the rest will go and we'll contact you by either calling your cell phone or through telepathy if we find Fiskerton, ok?"

We nodded.

"Be careful," Dad said. "This mansion can trick you easily."

"Don't worry," Raylee assured him. "I've been in worse situations than this before."

I didn't find that hard to believe.

The Hollingers waved goodbye to us and then walked away down the long hallway and disappeared. Then we heard an odd sound from all around us.

"I remember this noise," Mom said. "This noise is a bad noise."

"Run!" Dad said.

And that we did.

We ran down the hallway and there were those clocks on the walls on either side of us and bionic arms came out of them and grabbed onto Dad. We had ran into a room.

Sarah had grabbed onto my hand and we, plus Komodo, stepped on something that spun us around in a circle. Half a minute later, Komodo was thrown to one side, and Sarah and I were thrown to another and down a hatch. She held onto me even tighter than before. We fell onto the floor of a chasm, with her landing on top of me. Why am I always the one breaking the falls?

"Where are we?" Sarah asked, helping me off the ground.

"I don't know," I said.

I looked around, seeing only one exit.

"Zak," Sarah said frantically.

I looked where she was looking and saw a cylinder roll out of nowhere and it opened up, a lot of small red bugs coming out of it and were causing the room to shake.

"Why does everything cool try to kill me?" I asked out loud.

"I don't know," Sarah said.

She summoned fire to her hands and began blasting them all. But the shaking became too much and we fell back to the ground. A pillar collapsed right next to us, so I grabbed Sarah and I pulled her away before we got crushed by it. I was annoyed now, and grabbed the claw.

"Knock it off!" I said and activated my powers.

I was in control of them all and they stopped.

"Thank you," Sarah said.

Then we heard voices behind the walls right next to us and I recognized them.

"Ok, maybe one more time," I said, and directed the bugs onto the walls.

They shook it and the walls crumbled to pieces. Water poured out of one and Sarah summoned a force field around us to keep us both from getting wet. When the water washed away, I noticed my mom lying on the floor. I ran to her.

She sat up. "Zak!"

Then Komodo jumped on top of me.

"Guys, I'm ok," I said. "I— Zon!"

She looked like she was in a cement cocoon. I slingshot the claw toward her and pulled her to us. Mom used her fire sword to break the cocoon. She stretched her wings out and I gave her a hug. She cooed.

"Yeah, I'm glad you're ok, too," I said.

Then I heard Mom gasp. "Zak, that's the last piece of the Kur Stone."

I looked where she was looking and saw it sitting on a pedestal to our left. How had I not noticed that before?

The room began shaking again, and debris started to fall.

"Mom, we have to go!" I said.

Bugs were coming toward us.

"Go," she told us. "I'm right behind you."

We ran down the tunnel on the other side of the room and the room collapsed behind us. We just kept running. After a while, we heard some yelling and we recognized it as Dad's. We ran in the direction of where it came from.

"Doc!" Mom called.

We entered a room and noticed Doyle and Fiskerton.

"Fisk!" I ran to him, giving him a big hug. "I missed you so much. Don't ever, ever do that to me again."

Sarah, Zon, and Komodo came over and welcomed him back.

"Doyle, we heard Doc yelling," Mom said, getting back on the situation.

He was looking around a part of the floor a few feet away. "They fell down here. Doc and Argost."

"What?" I asked.

Sarah investigated the spot where he was. "This button right here opens it up."

She gestured to it on the wall. She pressed it and a part of the floor opened up.

"Let's go!" I said, and jumped down it, everyone else following.

We ran down a flight of stairs.

"Dad! Dad!" I called.

Halfway to the bottom, I noticed him holding Argost down to the ground. He noticed us.

"We're ok. All of us," I told him. "Fisk too. Doyle rescued him."

"Zak. Drew?" he said, sounding relieved. "It—it didn't happen again?"

Argost kicked Dad off of him while he was distracted and jumped into the river right next to him.

"No!" Dad said.

Argost had opened a sewer pipe and went inside of it.

We ran to Dad.

"We'll get him another time," he said. "If you're all safe, then it's over for now. We won."

Just as he said that, a creature that looked like a very large half crab, half octopus arose from the river behind him.

"Uh, Dad?" I said.

He crossed his arms. "No. I don't care. I am not turning around to look at it. It's over. We won."

The creature had a lot of tentacles and it grabbed onto all of us with them, moved us through a sewer and threw us outside.

"Well, I'd have to call that a success," Dad said while brushing himself off.

"More than you know," Mom said. "Take a look at my souvenir photo."

She showed us a holographic picture of the Kur Stone.

"The complete Kur Stone," Dad said. "You found Argost's last piece."

"Yeah. Too late to beat him to the Tomb of Kur, obviously, but this snake woman really caught my eye."

"Nasty," I said.

"Nothing about why Argost would've kidnapped Fiskerton, though," Mom continued. "Did he say anything, Fiskerton? Doyle?"

Fisk rubbed the back of his head.

"Guy's just a psychopath, I guess," Doyle said. "Hey, Fisk. Come here and tell me what a hero I am."

They walked about twenty feet away.

About half a minute later, Dad called to him. "Doyle, I need to talk to you."

We walked up to him.

"Are we really doing 'I told you so's on this one, Professor?" Doyle asked. "I mean, I am the one who found the missing—"

"I want you to come back with us," Dad interrupted.

I was surprised and also happy to hear that.

"Uh, you mean, like, a sleep over?" Doyle asked. "Because if you're asking me to join the team, I'm pretty sure I already turned down that."

"Doyle, I'm asking you for help," Dad said. "You just survived Weird World alone for the second time. There are things you know, skills you have, that I just don't."

"Wow. This must be really hard for you to admit. Keep going."

"All I care about is protecting my family. If it'll help do that, I want you to train Zak to do the things you do."

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"Uh, not _all_ the things you do," Mom corrected.

"This is great!" I said. "I'll be like your apprentice. No, sidekick. Partner. Fisk is the sidekick."

He didn't like that.

"You're gonna say yes, right?"

Doyle thought about it for a moment. "Like I'm gonna say no now. Welcome to boot camp, miniman."

"Yes!"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Oh, great."

We heard someone laughing behind us. "Don't worry, Sarah. It should be fine."

We turned and noticed Raylee and the rest of her family emerging from the woods.

"Hey, guys," she greeted.

"Hey, Mom," Sarah said. "What happened?"

"Well, we were dealing with one thing after another and we got thrown out here a few minutes ago. But none of us got hurt. And I see you guys found Fiskerton, so you succeeded in your quest."

"Yes, we did," I said.

"And Doyle's coming back," Raylee continued. "So, I guess, welcome back."

"Thanks," he replied.

This was so awesome. Doyle's coming back. He's gonna teach me to be like him, and, more importantly, we saved my brother without anyone dying.

This was probably the best day of my life so far.

* * *

 **Fiskerton's safe, and Doyle's come back. I actually liked this episode. I hope you guys liked this chapter. The next one is going to cause quite some drama, and you may partly know why, but not just with the Saturdays. Something serious is going to happen with the Hollingers.**

 **Please review.**


	27. Curse of the Stolen Tiger

**Zak's POV**

This sucks.

We're all in a country somewhere in Asia, and along the way, we picked up Wadi, because we haven't hung out with her in a while. So, since she's really good at stealing, we decided to make a game out of it called capture the flag, and Sarah was the only one on her team.

On the other team, it was Fiskerton, my mom, Komodo, Zack, and me. Yeah, it was unfair, but just because we have more members on our team, doesn't mean we were gonna win every time, because we didn't. Not even once. We played seven times, and every time Sarah and Wadi won since they're so good at stealing.

My dad and Uncle Doyle were timing it and they kept breaking the record.

"I call rematch," I said while trying to catch my breath and keeping my pants up because Wadi just has to take my belt every single time.

"That's seven times in a row," Doyle reminded me. "I'm supposed to be training Zak here, super girls. Can't you go easy on him for one round?"

Wadi crossed her arms. "I thought I was."

"I don't need anybody to go easy on me," I protested.

"Good, because I'm not going to," Sarah said.

"God, you two are like daughters of Hermes," Raylee said.

She was throwing a Frisbee with the animals really far away and they went to catch it, using their super speed before it could touch the ground, but Shillow was mostly hogging it. Well, she was still a dog.

"I knew you were going to say that," Sarah said to her mom.

She just shrugged. "The thought just came to mind."

"I guess it did."

Raylee was looking past us and she looked confused. I looked where she was looking, and understood why. There was a girl sneaking around behind us. All I could see of her before she hid behind the trees was her long blond hair.

She looked around a tree and noticed that I had seen her. She held up her index finger to her lips, telling me not to say anything. I looked at Raylee, and she nodded.

Sarah and Zack noticed. "What?"

Their mom shook her head. "Nothing."

"We can tell it's something," Sarah said. "So what?"

In response to her question, the girl appeared right behind them and placed a hand on her and Zack's shoulders. They turned their heads toward her and looked startled.

"Selena?!" they asked.

The girl smiled. "Hi, guys."

She had blue eyes, a little tan, and she looked like someone who was ready to go hiking.

Sarah sighed in relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack. How did you get here?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Raylee said.

Selena hesitated a little before answering. "Well, I took your Charizard, and he gave me a ride."

"I was wondering where he was," Sarah said. "Can I have him back, please?"

Selena reached into her pocket, pulled out the Poké ball, and gave it to her.

"Thank you. Now can you tell us why you did that?"

I missed you guys. We've barely spent any time together this summer. I especially missed you, Zack."

He smiled at her apologetically and wrapped his arms around her. "I guess it has been a while."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed and gave her a sideways hug. "We've just been really busy."

"Obviously," Selena said, looking at me.

Sarah looked at me too, and seemed to remember that I was there. "Oh, sorry. I guess I should introduce you guys. Everybody, this is my long time best friend since birth, and Zack's girlfriend, Selena. Selena, this is Zak, and his entire family and our friend Wadi."

"Hello, everyone," Selena greeted. "And hello to you too, Zak. Sarah's told me a lot about you."

She held her hand out to me.

I shook it. "Hi."

"Hey, Selena?" Raylee called. "Do your—"

"Guys," Wadi interrupted.

She was pointing at smoke rising in the distance.

"That's a serious fire," Mom said.

"That's a serious problem," Doyle said. "I've trained here before. There's a village just over that bridge."

"Let's go," Dad said.

* * *

When we got to the village, there were about a few dozen people that seemed to be praying in front of a small temple.

"Hey, uh, rough day?" I asked.

They all heard me and turned toward us. One of them said something in a language I didn't understand, then they all began saying it together and ran up to us, surrounding us. We thought they were attacking us.

"Doyle, hang on to Zak and Wadi," Dad said, putting on his power glove.

"No, wait, wait," Mom said, stopping him. "They're not trying to hurt us. They think we've come to save them."

"From what?" Sarah asked.

"Or who?" Raylee said. "But before we ask that, let's get them some food and water. They look very dehydrated and very hungry."

We all agreed. She used her powers to summon a lot of food and water and we passed them around while Mom talked to them.

"It's been nothing but bad luck for a while here," she explained to us. "Ever since they lost their village protector."

"A blue tiger?" I assumed, gesturing to a statue of one a few feet away. "Just a guess."

"There's been talk of blue tiger cryptids for decades," Dad said. "But nothing to suggest they bring bad luck."

"Well, actually, it brings good luck," Mom said. "Or, it did, until it got stolen."

Hearing her say it was stolen made me look at Wadi. She noticed.

"Yes, I stole a blue tiger, which I am keeping inside my pants pocket right now," she said sarcastically. "Say hello to everyone, tiger."

"Hey, I'm just saying," I said.

"It really chaps how she skunked you at capture the flag, huh?" Doyle said to me.

"I don't care what she does."

"They know who stole it," Mom said, turning it back on the subject. "A new warlord just came to the area, but with their bad luck streak, they don't dare go after it."

"Then let's help them get it back," Sarah suggested.

"I agree," Dad said.

So we did.

* * *

We all went to the warlord's place, and it was big. I could see a lot of guards in front of one house in the distance.

"I think I know which house the warlord lives in," Dad said.

"I can jet pack up a stealth team," Doyle suggested. "Say, Zak, Wadi, Sarah, Zack, and Selena get the tiger."

"What?" I asked.

"Perfect," Wadi said.

"Ok," Sarah, Zack, and Selena said.

"Stealth mission," Doyle said. "Gotta go with the biggest sneaks."

I looked at the four of them, and they seemed to agree.

"I don't know that I'm comfortable with this idea, either," Dad said.

"You wanted me to start training Zak my way," Doyle reminded him. "Well, this is how it works."

That got him to agree.

"We'll by you five some time with a diversion," Mom said.

"Don't worry, Mom," I assured her. "I'll take care of her."

I said that in reference to Wadi. They all stared at me, but we nodded in agreement.

Doyle picked Wadi and I up and flew off. Sarah and Zack, holding onto Selena, followed behind us.

* * *

We hid behind a couple of boulders about thirty feet away from the bridge.

"Just two guards?" I asked in disbelief. "I'll take this one solo."

Doyle looked at me.

"It's a training mission, right? So take off the training wheels."

"Show me what you got," he said.

And that I did.

I ran past the guards without them noticing me, jumped into the chasm, grabbed out the claw and slingshot it under the bridge, and swung myself from board to board. Suddenly, I felt someone bump into me from behind.

"Excuse me," Wadi said, swinging on the bridge like it was monkey bars.

I did the same and we raced to the end.

"I win," we both said in unison.

Zack, Selena, and Sarah were watching us with interest, and we tied.

We noticed a sewer pipe big enough to fit the five of us below us.

"First one inside breaks the tie breaker?" Wadi suggested.

"Deal," I said.

I swung the claw at it, let go of the bar on the bridge, swung myself around the sewer pipe, and landed on top of it.

I looked up at Wadi. "So, how do you plan on getting down?"

"Shivery," she said in response, then let go of the bridge and began to fall.

"Huh? Whoa!"

I slingshot the claw toward her. It wrapped around her waist, and I pulled her up next to me.

"Are you insane?" I said. "What if I hadn't caught you?"

"There's a ledge four feet down," she replied. "You think I would trust my life to someone who can't even hold on to a red flag? Race you inside."

I was getting very annoyed with her. The other three found it amusing.

We began walking around and me and Wadi were arguing over who gets to be the leader, but Sarah stopped us.

"Shut up!" she yelled. "I'll be the leader. Now try to keep up."

She started running. We ran after her. I don't think she was watching where she was going, because she passed a hatch up above.

"Wait!" I called.

She didn't hear me, but Wadi did. She was in front of me, following close behind Sarah, and turned to face me. But then Zack had ran into me and that's when things got worse. When he ran into me, he pushed me forward, right into Wadi, and I, somehow, caught her lips with mine.

But that wasn't the worst part.

Sarah had realized we stopped and turned around, seeing me and Wadi accidentally kiss. I pulled away and Wadi seemed just as surprised as I was. But not as surprised as Sarah.

Nobody spoke for a while. Eventually, Sarah found the courage to.

"Umm, why did you stop?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I, uh, noticed the hatch," I replied, pointing up at it.

She looked up and nodded. "Ok."

I lifted it up a bit and looked around. I noticed about four guards with weapons near a throne.

"Looks like a warlord's weapons dealer," I said. Then I noticed the blue tiger near the throne. "So that's Lucky, huh? Then we've just got to wait for the diversion."

"But how will we know—"

Wadi was interrupted when the guards ran over the hatch after I had noticed them coming.

"That's how," Selena said.

Once the guards were gone, I lifted the hatch up all the way and we all climbed out, then ran toward Lucky. He saw us.

"That's right. Friend," I told him. "Nice kitty. We'll get you right out of—wait. Guys, the tiles around the tiger. It's some kind of pressure alarm."

"And you think this worries me?" Wadi asked.

"I know," Sarah agreed.

We jumped over it. The tiger greeted us. Wadi was working on the panel on the throne, but I managed to get the tiger's chains off.

"Too slow, Wadi," I said. "We're already on our—"

I accidentally stepped on the tiger's tail. He growled in pain and ran.

"Whoa, whoa," I said. "Kitty, stop!"

I grabbed onto his tail to stop him, but he pulled me along.

Sarah, Zack, and Selena started laughing instead of helping.

Lucky was dragging me, so I grabbed the claw and slingshot it to grab onto something, but it didn't.

"Stop!" Sarah called to him.

He ran to her and stopped. I bumped into him. Then suddenly, a net fell on top of us.

"Your mother will be so proud," Wadi told me sarcastically.

I ignored her. "Hang on. I'll get us out of this."

I used the claw to cut the rope, but after I did, it shot out, hit some kind of weapon that shot launchers into the air.

"Oh, please don't hit anything important," I begged.

Of course, it does.

* * *

The guards had come back and managed to stop us and forced us onto our knees in front of the throne. They had chained back up Lucky and put cuffs only on Sarah and Zack. Why? I didn't know.

They also confiscated our weapons. Then they brought the rest of our families and forced them onto their knees as well. Raylee also had cuffs on her wrists and the animals were tied together and their collars were taken off.

"Mom, Dad, I'm sorry," I told them. "I don't know what happened."

"It's alright, Zak," Mom said. "We're just glad you five are ok."

"You have a very strange definition of 'ok'," a voice said.

A man appeared in front of us, and I recognized him.

"Shoji Fuzen," Dad said.

"Hanichiwa, Saturdays," he replied. "I hadn't expected to have my revenge on you so soon. This must be my _lucky_ day. Please enjoy my hospitality. It is the least I can offer after you and the Hibagon beast destroyed my criminal empire in Tokyo."

"Really?" Doyle asked me, sounding impressed. "A whole empire?"

"Eh, it was a good day," I admitted.

"I escaped from police custody," Fuzen continued. "And once I heard the legend of the lucky blue tiger, I knew where I must go to rebuild. You see, I learn from my mistakes."

"And yet, here you are, going up against us again," Dad said.

One of the guards hit him in the back with their weapon.

"Last time, you defeated me with the help of your pet monsters," Fuzen said. "But now, I have a pet of my own. You should see the advances in weapons technology his luck has brought us."

He tried to touch the tiger, but it growled at him. He threw a piece of meat at him, but the tiger just swatted it away too.

Huh. Lucky and smart.

"I don't care if you love me," Fuzen told him. "As long as you give me good fortune. Take them away."

The guards grabbed us and took us to the dungeon.

* * *

They put the animals all in one cell together and the rest of us in another across from it.

"Somebody tell me what happened," Doyle said.

"You mean _who_ happened," Wadi corrected, gesturing to me.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault," I protested. "It was like everything went wrong for me at once. I thought that tiger was suppose to be good luck."

Mom and Dad made eye contact, and seemed to come to some kind of agreement.

Mom sighed. "I was afraid of this when we agreed to bring her along."

I was confused. "Afraid of what?"

I was _so_ sorry I asked.

"The clumsiness, the awkwardness, the seeming war between you and your own body," Dad explained.

I still didn't understand.

"Zak, puberty is difficult for everyone," Mom said.

I understood now, and I didn't like it.

"What?" I said. "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

Doyle was trying to keep from laughing. Wadi and Sarah looked shocked. Zack and Selena seemed to grow interest at their feet, and Raylee looked angry.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Mom assured me. "Hormonal changes can be awkward, even at the best of times."

Nothing to be ashamed of? Did she not know that me and Sarah are dating?

"Who knows how your special powers are affected," Dad said. "And with the trigger of an attracted young girl you're obviously trying to impress."

"What?!" I asked.

"She is a pretty girl, mini-man," Doyle said.

He was not helping at all.

I looked at Sarah and she looked completely heart broken. She was probably thinking that my parents were right since she did see me and Wadi kiss earlier, even though it was an accident. I wanted to tell her that it wasn't true, but I doubt she'd believe me now.

I ran to the cell door.

"Please," I told the guard outside the cell, practically begging. "You can take me first."

He ignored me. Probably because he was too busy putting on one of the animals collars around his neck. That was weird and disturbing.

"Hey, dude, those collars are not going to give you any kind of powers at all," Raylee told him. "They're designed for one specific person—or animal, actually—and that animal only. All you're doing is making yourself look like an idiot."

He seemed to understand and took the collar off.

"Alright," Raylee continued. "Now, Zak, I am really sorry that you're being embarrassed like this. Believe me, I know how embarrassing it is."

"You do?" I asked. "Like this?"

"Well, I never got anything like this from my parents"—She glared at my parents. —"mostly because I was rarely ever around boys who weren't related to me, but I have from friends. And it's because of that that I've never embarrassed my children like that. Have I, Sarah? Zack?"

They shook their heads. "No."

"Right. I especially have never said the word puberty"—she shrieked after she said the word—"But we need to focus on getting out of here. Not on—"

"Raylee!" a voice said frantically.

"Oh, not now," Raylee complained. Then she lifted her left wrist, which had a green bracelet on it, to her mouth. "What is it, Jed?"

"There's a big car accident near your area," a voice said from the bracelet.

"Wait. Near our area? Jed, you're suppose to tell me crime that happens in America, not . . . where are we? Somewhere in Asia?"

"Sorry, Raylee. Let me rephrase that. By 'in your area', I meant the area of where you live in America."

"Oh, ok. What happened?"

"Well, a driver was driving too fast during rush hour, drunk, and ran into a car, causing him to flip over and some other cars got involved as well."

"Ok. How many people are involved?"

"Six. Five adults and a child."

"What's the damage?"

"No deaths yet, but a lot of them do have injuries, and the drunk driver and the child's injuries are very life threatening."

"Wait. This just happened? Again, you're suppose to tell me this _before_ it happens. You have a short vision of the future."

"I know, and I'm sorry, Raylee, but you were busy at the time."

"It's ok, I understand. And thanks for letting me know, even though I probably won't get to it for a while. Anything else?"

"Yes. Your phone is about to ring."

Not a moment later did her phone ring.

"Oh," she said. "I'm surprised I get bars down here, or even a signal."

"You designed it that way," Jed reminded her.

"Oh, right." She grabbed her phone out of her back pocket and looked at the screen. "It's your mother, Selena. She's probably wondering where you are."

"She knows I'm here with you," she said.

"She does? Does she know how you got here?"

She nodded. "Yes."

Raylee rolled her eyes. "Ok." She answered her phone. "Hello? . . . Hey, Britney, what's up?"

A moment of silence.

"What do you mean, do I know where Cj is? I haven't been home in a couple days. Why? Where is he?"

Another moment of silence.

"He is. Or was. He's started drinking again lately. I don't know why, but—" She looked at Sarah "—well, I have an idea on why he's drinking again, but what's going on?"

Silence.

"Well, if he took Emily with him, I think he would know better than to go to a bar, even if he is drunk. But where he went? I'm not sure. Maybe to . . ." Raylee faltered. Her eyes widened with fear and she looked at Jed the watch. "Hold on a second, Britney." She put the phone down. "Jed, you said that there was a child involved in that car accident, right?"

"That's correct, Raylee," he replied.

"How old is that child, and which car was that child in?"

"The child is a baby girl. She's a few months old, and she was in the car with the drunk driver that caused the accident. His baby daughter, I assume."

Raylee looked about ready to break. "Oh my God." She lifted her phone back to her ear. "Britney, I know where he is. Go up the highway and you'll find him. You'll know what I mean when you go. I'll try to get there as soon as I can, but we're in a little trouble right now and it'll probably take a while, ok?"

A moment of silence.

"Ok. Oh, and Britney? Do you know that Selena's here? . . . You did?" She sighed. "Ok. I'll see you later. Bye." She hung up and put the phone back in her pocket. Then she leaned against the wall. "We have to get out of here." A couple tears streaked down her face. "Now."

"Why, Mom?" Sarah asked, her voice also breaking. "What—what's wrong with Dad and Emily?"

"I don't know, exactly. But what I do know is that they're in an accident, and, by the sounds of it, a very terrible one. If my powers would work, then we can get out of here." She pounded the cell bars with her fist, but seemed to regret it right afterwards, because she clutched it with her other hand in pain. "Owwwww."

Sarah and Zack laughed a little.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Raylee asked them. "Hit your hand into the bar and feel how funny that is."

"Sorry, but we're not laughing because you broke your hand," Zack said.

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "We're laughing because usually you would break whatever you punch, not whatever you punch breaks you instead."

"Well, that's because I have super strength," Raylee said. "Or, at least, I use to."

I realized what she just said.

"Wait," I said. "Your powers aren't working? Why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. These chains are somehow keeping us from using our powers at all."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "I feel like a regular mortal."

"Well, regular mortal or not, I don't care. At the moment, anyway. What I do care about is—"

Suddenly, the guard was thrown against the wall, his head hitting it really hard, and he was unconscious. We were confused by how that happened to him, but then two women appeared in front of our cell.

"Hi, Raylee," one of them said.

"Long time no see," the other one said.

"Oh my God," she groaned. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Well, that's a way to respond to your sisters," one of them said. She had long, slightly curled, brown hair, and blue eyes.

"We're not sisters anymore. And we probably never will be again."

"Ok," the other one said. She looked similar to the other woman, so I assumed that they were sisters.

She karate-chopped the cell door lock and it opened.

"So?" Raylee asked. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Well, we were flying by and sensed you here," the first woman replied, then broke open the cell that the animals were in.

Shillow and the cheetahs greeted the two women happily.

"No," Raylee said. "I meant what the hell are you two doing _here_? On earth?"

"Oh," the first woman said. "Narma gave our whole family a mission to hunt down a few men about a decade ago, and they spend most of their time on earth. And we're still hunting them. Earth is so complicated for us."

"Well, you weren't born on it like I was," Raylee said. "But you say you've had this mission for a decade now. Why is earth still complicated for you?"

"We're getting the hang of it," the second woman said.

Raylee rolled her eyes. "Whatever. But who are these men? Why wasn't I asked to help out since I do know earth better than any other Immortal? Do I know these men?"

The women hesitated.

"Umm, yes," the second woman said.

"I'm guessing by the way you said that that I don't like them," Raylee guessed.

"For many reasons," the second woman said.

"And what are those reasons?"

"Well, for starters, they're men," the first woman explained. "Their the ones who killed Nick, and they raped and impregnated you so many, many years ago."

"WHAT?!" Sarah and Zack asked, completely surprised.

"You couldn't have left it at 'They killed Nick'?" Raylee sighed. "That would've been enough."

"Mom, what are they talking about?" Sarah asked, shaking a little bit. "What men? And who is Nick?"

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised that you haven't told them about your past life," the first woman said.

"Oh, shut up," Raylee said. "You know how I am. What happens in the past, stays in the past, and is never brought up again in the present or future."

"That's sad, Raylee. And I don't mean for us, but for Alex, Madison, and Kiara."

Raylee looked sad. "I know. I really am sorry for that, and half the time I regret it."

"Raylee, why have you avoided and ignored us all these years?" the second woman asked. "We use to be sisters, but ever since you've moved on, you—"

"I haven't moved on from him, and you know it," she interrupted. "To be honest, I don't think I ever will move on from him. But the reason I've avoided you is because it hurts."

"What do you mean?" the first woman asked.

Raylee had tears in her eyes. "You know what I mean. It hurts to see you two and not think about him. Not that I want to forget about him, because I don't. Not ever. But, the fact that you two are his sisters, you look similar to him, and it hurts to think that I've technically moved on."

"I guess we can understand that," the second woman said. "But what about the others?"

"Same thing. But, speaking about him, have you two found out what happened to his grave yet?"

They hesitated again. "No."

"What? Do you know what happened to his grave?"

They shook their heads.

"No, Raylee," the second woman said. "We still don't know what happened to it."

"Do you think they had anything to do with it?" she asked them.

"It's possible," the first woman agreed. "But we don't know for sure."

Raylee sighed. "Please let me know when you do."

"We will."

The two women looked guilty, like they were hiding something.

Raylee nodded. "Ok, well, I need to go home. Or to the hospital."

"Oh. Do you want us to take those off your wrists?" the first woman asked, gesturing to her chains.

"Yes, please."

They karate-chopped them off. Then they turned toward Sarah and Zack. "What about you two?"

They nodded and got their chains broken off. "Thank you."

They put the animals collars back on them.

"Ok, we need to go," Raylee said, then turned toward the animals. "Umm, I'm going to need all of you guys. Sarah, Zack, Selena, do you guys want to stay?"

Zack and Selena nodded, but Sarah hesitated.

She looked at me, looking sad. She sighed. "I guess I'll stay too."

"Ok," Raylee said. "Give me a call as soon as you guys are done with this, ok?"

They nodded.

"Alright. Then we're going."

"Wait, Raylee," the first woman said. "Do you think that maybe we could be friends again?"

"Well, you two are better friends then Britney is," she replied.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Selena asked, sounding offended.

"Selena, you don't know your mother like I do."

"Yeah," the first woman asked. "And is she really Britney's biological daughter?"

"Believe it or not, yes."

"Why does that surprise you?" Selena asked.

"Again, Selena, you don't know her like I do. but in response to your question, Nikki, no. I just can't handle that right now."

"It's ok," she replied, whose name I assumed was Nikki. "We understand."

"Ok, well, bye, guys." Raylee activated her powers, and she and the animals were gone."

"That went well," Nikki said.

"Speak for yourself," her sister said.

Nikki turned toward the corner of the room. "What do you think?"

At first it seemed like she was talking just to the wall. But then a man suddenly appeared. He had short brown hair, and blue eyes. Sarah and Zack seemed to recognize him.

"You!" they said with a little resentment.

He smiled at them. "Hello, Sarah and Zack. It's nice to finally meet you two."

"How do you know us?" Sarah asked.

"Because he's been spying on your family for the past ten years," Nikki muttered.

He glared at her. "I wouldn't say spying. I'd say looking out for them."

"And I'd say spying."

"How do you two know him?" Nikki's sister asked.

"Well, we don't know his name, but—" Sarah began, but the man interrupted.

"They found an old picture of me and Raylee together and think that she's having an affair with me," he said.

"Are you?"

Nikki snorted. "Well, she would with him, but then again, there would've been no reason for her to do so."

"That maybe true," the man said. "But Raylee's not like that at all."

"Ok," Zack said. "Why have you guys been spying on us, and how do you know our mom?"

The two sisters looked at the man to explain.

He sighed. "We'll let your mother tell you when she is ready to. But can you two not tell her that you saw me?"

"What's gonna stop us?" Sarah asked.

He smiled mischievously. "I am an Immortal as well, and I am capable of doing many things with my powers that neither of you two are capable of doing yourselves yet."

"Well, like you said, not yet."

"Yeah," Zack agreed.

The man smiled. "You two really are your mother's children, aren't you?"

"You bet we are," Sarah said.

The three of them laughed.

"Good times," the man said. "Well, we'll leave you guys now. And Sarah, Zack, we will meet again someday."

"I'm sure we will," Sarah said.

The three of them activated their powers and they were gone.

"Well, we still don't know who he is, but at least we know he's not having an affair with our mom," Sarah said.

Zack nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

I decided to change the subject back to the main reason.

"Alright, can we get back to real business now?" I said. "I want a second chance at Lucky the tiger."

"No, thank you," Wadi said. "My survival is more important than your show-off-teenage-boy problems. I will do it myself this time."

"Wadi, wait," Mom called after her.

She left through a small exit on the side, and she was gone.

"It's like she doesn't even listen," I said. "How could you think I'd like a girl like that?"

They all stared at me.

"What?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "I don't know why, but I'm going with her."

And she left too.

"Let's go," Dad said.

We left through a different exit.

* * *

We went back to where the tiger was and noticed that there were a lot more weapons and guards.

"Upgraded security," Dad said. "Fuzen's quick."

Then we noticed Wadi and Sarah climbing out of the sewer hatch. We tried to get their attention and tell them to stop, but they didn't noticed us. They jumped through the new traps and got to the tiger, getting his chains off. But they ended up dropping them and the guards heard it and caught them.

"They've seen them," I said. "I told you the tiger was bad luck."

The guards aimed their weapons at them, but Sarah used her powers and threw fire balls at them, scaring them away. Sarah and Wadi walked over to us with the tiger.

"Tiger's fault, huh?" Doyle asked me.

I glared at him.

* * *

We ran around the village carefully, but there were so many guards. We hid on a staircase.

"There's a ton of guards down here," I whispered.

"Even more at the main gate," Doyle added, looking out the window.

"With our weapons confiscated, I don't like our odds in a fight," Dad said.

"No Doyle jet pack either," Mom said. "Our only option is the elevator left back in town. Any ideas how to get there?"

Komodo, I guess, saw something outside the window next to him and jumped out of it.

"Komodo," Wadi called. She grabbed the back half of him and held him back. "I found a back door."

My parents looked out the window and noticed it too.

"Nice work, Wadi," Dad said.

I snorted, mostly to myself. "I could've found a back door."

Then I accidentally knocked some kind of round metal thing that was hanging on the wall down and it fell down the stairs, making a lot of noise.

"Think anybody heard that?" I asked hopefully.

In response to my question, we heard the guards and they sounded like they were coming our way.

"Yes, they heard that," Zack said.

We ran up the stairs. We went into the room with the window and closed the door behind us. Then we pushed a table in front of it.

"Here, guys," Sarah said.

She and Zack summoned hooks for us to use on the rope. We took them and went one after the other. Mom and Sarah took care of the tiger. Dad and I stayed back and held the table against the door. The guards were trying to get in.

"Go, Zak!" Dad told me after everyone else went. "I'll be right behind you."

I nodded, then grabbed a hook, connected it to the rope, and went.

I guess my weight was too much for it to handle, because it broke and I fell onto a cliff below. Dad grabbed the other rope and jumped down right next to me.

"You know, it was just like this for me when I met your mother," he said.

I felt the urge to push him over the cliff. "I am not in love with Wadi

He didn't respond.

We climbed back up the cliff to where the village was and met up with our family.

"Quickly, friends," a guy called to us, standing in front of a door to a house. "Here! Here!"

We didn't argue and followed him inside.

We looked around outside to make sure that no one could see us.

"My allies at the compound were able to recover some of your weapons," the guy told us, holding a few of them up.

The only weapons were my dad's power glove, Mom's fire sword, and the claw. We took them and thanked him.

"Wait," Doyle said. "I get nothing?"

"I promise we'll be back with our airship and a lot more fire power," Dad assured him. "But I think we better be moving."

"Wait," the guy said, stopping us. "Fuzen's men have severed every connection to the ground. I'm afraid there's no way down."

"There's still one way," Doyle said.

We stared at him.

"Ok, two," he said. "But one ends in a nasty splatter."

"I request the not splatter version," Wadi said.

"I think we all do," Selena said.

We began to climb down the cliff. Sarah and Zack were flying near us, waiting to catch us if we slipped. But Zack was more focused on Selena, who was having a harder time than even Fiskerton, and he was carrying the tiger down.

"Hold on, Fisk," I called to him. "I'll help."

I climbed up to him.

"Careful, Zak," Mom told me. "You're not exactly on a hot streak right now."

"Yes," Wadi agreed. "If you would just keep a safe distance, please, until your puberty goes away."

I glared at her.

"Oh, it never goes away, Wadi," Sarah said.

"Unfortunately, no," Zack agreed.

"Unfortunately?" Selena asked, sounding offended.

"I didn't mean for me. I meant for other guys, like Zak."

"Thanks," I told him sarcastically.

Maybe if I push Wadi down, that'll prove that I don't like her, especially to Sarah.

"That sounds tempting," Sarah said, I guess reading my mind.

"It was just a suggestion," I said.

"I know. And it's tempting."

"What is?" Wadi asked.

"Nothing," we both said in unison.

I turned back to the situation and climbed up to the tiger.

"Relax, guys," I said. "Calming cryptids is what I do."

I lost my footing and was about to fall over, so I instinctively grabbed onto Lucky's tail to keep me up. He growled in pain and sank his claws into Fiskerton's hands, which also caused him to yell in pain. Then a moment later, Fuzen, wearing some kind of new armor, and his men appeared about twenty feet away, flying on hovercrafts.

"Secure the tiger," Fuzen said to his men. "The Saturdays are mine."

They started blasting at us and we held on desperately.

Then some ropes appeared next to us and we noticed the guy that helped us earlier and his men were blasting back with their own guns, but Fuzen's armor was blocking every hit, so in return, he shot rockets at them, and they retreated. More men appeared.

"We've got to help them," Dad said.

Mom unsheathed her fire sword. "Zak, just keep the tiger safe. Wadi, keep Zak safe."

"What?" we both asked in disbelief.

Sarah and Zack took care of Fuzen's men for us no problem. I moved a little, but Lucky kept swinging his tail in front of my face.

"It's you," I told him. "I know you're doing this. What have you got against me?"

He growled a little bit and swung his tail again.

"Ok, that's it." I grabbed the claw. "You're giving me good luck whether you want to or not."

I heard Sarah sigh. "And here we go again."

I wasn't sure what she meant, but right now I didn't care. I activated my powers, then suddenly, a tornado of a wind came up from the chasm below. I didn't understand it, but Mom did.

"Zak, it's you," she said. "Your power. It's causing some kind of feedback, turning the tiger's good luck to bad."

"Just stay away from it," Dad said.

I deactivated my powers, and the wind went away. Then I got an idea.

"Or . . ." I said. "Hey, Fisk, think you can toss that tiger back up top?"

He nodded.

"Ok, do it. Then toss me."

He did as I told him.

The tiger and I were back up top, with me on his back. We that noticed some of Fuzen's men had the guy that helped us earlier and his men surrounded. They noticed us.

"Ok, who feels lucky?" I asked, then raised the claw and activated my powers.

The bad luck only effected Fuzen's men, then we ran all over the village.

"On ward, my stead," I told Lucky. "Bad luck go!"

We destroyed the whole place. Then we all gathered back with my family. I got off of Lucky's back and he went and greeted the people in his village. They all cheered at his return.

"Come on," I said. "Can't we even soak up a little Ju-Ju love?"

"Can't take the chance," Dad said. "Whatever chaos field that tiger generates to alters the laws of probability. Your power seems to twist it from good to bad when you get too close."

"Even when your powers aren't active, it's enough to turn luck bad for you personally," Mom added. "And when you actually activate them—"

"Human bad luck bomb," I finished. "Fine. The only reward I need is proving all of you wrong. So can we just apologize and admit I don't have a puberty thing for Wadi?"

"Too bad," she said. "You're kind of cute."

I found that surprising.

"Oh, yeah," Doyle said. "Definitely no puberty going on there."

This was not making it any easier for me and Sarah, who looked even more hurt than before.

* * *

We had taken Wadi home, and then we went back to our home as well. After we got back, Sarah pulled me aside into a room to talk. She had tears in her eyes, but seemed to be trying to hold them back.

"I can't believe you kissed her," she said. "And in front of me, no less."

"Sarah, it was an accident," I said. "I didn't mean to—"

"What was an accident, exactly? You kissing her, or you doing it in front of me?"

"Umm, the first one. Zack had—"

"You're blaming it on my brother? My twin brother? How dare you?"

"Sarah, just let me explain," I pleaded.

"No, Zak," she said. "I don't wanna hear it. You're just going to make up some sorry excuse just to keep me, but that's not gonna happen."

"Sarah, please."

"No. It's over, Zak. We're done."

She left the room, crying. I wanted to stop her, but something held me back.

I sat down in a chair. I just couldn't believe it was over between me and Sarah. And, I'll admit it, I cried too.

* * *

 **Aww. Poor Zak. That really was a whole day of bad luck for him. Sarah may have overreacted a little bit, but it's understandable why. Things are definitely going to get awkward for them now. But who do you guys think that man and those two women were that helped them escape? How do you think they know Raylee?**

 **Please review.**


	28. Recuperating

**Zak's POV**

I was sitting on the couch watching TV, trying to recuperate from my break up with Sarah, which was really hard, when Zack and his girlfriend Selena entered the room.

Selena sat down on the couch next to me with a mad look on her face. Zack sat next to her with the same mad look on his face. Selena grabbed the remote from me and turned off the TV.

"Ok, Zak," she said calmly. "Zack and I are quite upset about what you did to Sarah. But before we jump to any conclusions and yell at you, possibly even hit you a few times, we're going to hear your side about what happened yesterday, ok?"

"Ok," I replied, and I sat up.

"So what happened?"

I told them my side of the story. When I was done, the expressions on their faces turned from being mad to pity.

"Ok," they both said in unison.

At least I know they won't yell or hit me.

I slumped back against the couch. "Yeah."

"Did you tell Sarah that?" Selena asked.

"I tried to," I said. "But when I mentioned Zack, she became very defensive of him."

"Yeah, she and Zack are really close."

"That's true," he agreed. "I'm not surprised that she wouldn't listen after you said my name, because our mom told her that if she sees her exes cheat on her to not listen to his excuse of his reason why, and to stop any kind of contact with him."

"I thought she said to actually listen to the excuse and debate on whether or not to believe him, because sometimes the guy is the victim. But if she can't decide, she should talk to her mom and friends and get their opinions on it."

"Maybe that is what our mom told her, but I don't know. I'm not her daughter. I'm her son."

"Yeah, but doesn't she tell you the same thing about girls?"

"Sometimes."

"Ok," I interrupted, trying to change the subject back to me. "So, since you guys are her best friend and brother, what's your opinion on my excuse?"

They made eye contact with each other.

"My powers say that he's telling the truth," Zack said.

"I don't think this time we'll need your powers to confirm the truth," Selena said. She turned back to me. "We believe you, Zak. But Sarah obviously doesn't, which is understandable since this is her first break up ever."

"What should I do?" I asked.

"Be patient with her. A lot happened yesterday, and I'm not just referring to what you accidentally did to her that she thinks you did on purpose. Give her time and she'll eventually feel up to listening to your side of the story from beginning to end. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?"

"Zak, I can't guarantee it for you. But I will try to help you."

"So will I, since it was kind of my fault," Zack said.

"No, it wasn't," I said. "It was an accident."

"An accident or not, I still caused it. So I'm going to go see if I can fix it now."

He stood up from the couch.

"Zack, you really shouldn't," Selena said. "She needs time."

"I know, but I also know my sister. My twin sister. She'll listen to me."

And with that, he left the room.

"Why does he and Sarah always add 'twin' when they refer to what their relation is to each other and emphasize on it?" I asked Selena.

She shook her head. "I don't know. It's a habit of theirs."

Apparently.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

I was holding my cell phone in my hand, dreading to dial the number because I was afraid of what she would tell me. But I knew I would have to hear the news sooner or later, so I worked up the courage and dialed the number.

She answered on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Mom?" I said.

"Sarah? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine . . . Well, actually, I'm not. How's Dad and Emily?"

She breathed in and out heavily before she answered. "Not good."

"Do I want to know?" I asked.

"No."

"Can you still tell me?"

"I can try." Mom's voice became a whisper. "They are both in serious condition, and they are really disturbing to look at. They're really struggling to hold on, especially Emily. They've already been gone twice."

"What do you mean by 'gone'?"

"I think you know."

Tears began streaking down my face. "But they're at least still here, right?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe Zack and I should come and—"

"No," Mom interrupted.

"But, Mom—"

"No, Sarah. I don't think that you and Zack will be able to bare the sight of them like this. The only reason I'm able to is because I have seen worse than this many times, and I've been in this exact situation before."

"I believe that, Mom. But I don't think you're baring well, because you sound like you're crying now."

She sobbed. "You know how sensitive I am."

"Yes, I do. And it's probably because of what you've had to bare the sight of at your job."

"Actually, I've been sensitive since I was your age, and that was a very long time ago."

"Yes, it was."

"But anyway, don't come. I promise I'll call you on any update when something new happens, ok?"

I sighed. "Fine. But, Mom, I want to ask you about what happened yesterday. About those two women."

I could tell she wanted to hang up without answering me. "Sarah, I can't."

"But they said that you were raped by those men that killed Nick. What men? And who's Nick? Who were those two women? And why didn't you ever tell me that you were raped and got pregnant?"

"No one likes to ever think back to the day that they were raped and impregnated, Sarah."

"I know, but you've got to tell me. What happened to the baby you had gotten pregnant with? Do I have another brother or sister somewhere?"

"I can't talk about it," Mom said. "You know how I like to keep whatever happened to me in the past to stay in the past and never be brought up again in the present or future because it hurts too much."

"It can't always stay that way, Mom. You don't have to tell me about the people, but can you at least tell me about the baby? I guess, my half-brother or sister?"

"I can't. It hurts too much," she said. "I will try to tell you someday, but now's really not the best time, especially not with your dad like this, ok?"

I sighed. "Fine."

"So what happened with you yesterday?"

I told her everything, even about Zak kissing Wadi and me breaking up with him because of it.

"Wow," Mom said. "I'm really sorry about that, Sarah. How are you feeling?"

"Hurt," I replied.

"Yeah. You'll get through it eventually."

"Have any of your past boyfriends ever cheated on you?"

"Umm, one, but we ended ok."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind. I had very few boyfriends before I settled down with one and married him."

"What about when you were a teenager?"

"I only had three, but neither of them lasted long."

"How come?"

"Well, the first one lasted about a month, even though we only spent half that time together. His mom didn't want him dating, so he broke up with me a couple days after our very first kiss, but I wasn't really into him. My next boyfriend lasted about five months. I met him on a cruise ship and ended up kissing him less than 24 hours after meeting him."

"Wow," I said.

"I know. I was that drawn to him. But he lived in a different state, so when the cruise ended, we had to separate, but stayed in contact through phone."

"Why did you break up?"

"For a few reasons. I didn't like the way he talked to me half the time, I don't like having a long distance relationship, and he was way too obsessed with me for my taste."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, whenever he would call me, and I don't answer, he'll keep calling me until I answer the damn phone instead of leaving a damn message and waiting for me to return it. It was so annoying."

I laughed. "I'll bet."

"Yeah," Mom agreed.

"And your third one?"

Mom was silent for a little while. "The one and only date we had was horrible. After that one, I wouldn't go out with him again."

"Why not?"

Mom was silent again. I could swear I heard her sniffle. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just leave it at it was bad when it started and just got worse as it continued."

"Umm, ok."

Then Zack entered my room. "Hey, Sarah. Who are you talking to?"

"Mom," I replied.

"Oh, ok. How's Dad and Emily?"

"Not good."

"Sarah, are you still there?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, I am. Zack just came into the room. My brother. My twin brother."

"Oh. Then I should let you go and you can tell him what happened, ok?"

"Ok. Bye, Mom."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and turned back to Zack. "Mom said that Dad and Emily are in critical condition."

I told him the whole story.

"Wow," he said when I was finished.

"I know," I said.

"Do you think they'll make it?"

"I don't know. But I hope they do."

He nodded in agreement. "Umm, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment."

"Sure," I said. "What about?"

"Umm, Zak."

"Umm, ok. What about him?"

He sat down on the bed next to me, looking hesitant. "Sarah, it wasn't his fault. It was mine."

I stared at him. "How could it possibly be your fault that Zak kissed Wadi?"

"Easy," he said. "By accidentally running into him, and pushing against her."

"On the lips?"

"It's possible."

"I don't think so," I said. "I'm not forgiving Zak . . . Zack"—we both laughed at that—"unless Wadi kissed him first, which she might have since she did call him cute, but I won't believe it unless I'm shown proof."

"What about your powers? They never lie."

"They're not saying anything, so you're probably wrong. Besides, why would you defend him since he hurt your sister? Your _twin_ sister?"

"I'm only defending him because I know he's innocent," Zack replied.

"Well, I don't think he is, and you're not going to convince me otherwise, so I suggest you stop trying to."

He sighed and stood up from the bed. "Fine. But you will realize it yourself someday."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," I said. "I really don't care right now. And if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone now."

"I'm going." He walked to the door. "Now I'm gone."

And he left, the door closing behind him.

I sighed. "Powers, did Zak really kiss Wadi?"

They didn't reply, so Zack was probably wrong.

It didn't matter though, because I don't care. I'm too hurt to care about anything right now.

* * *

 **Yeah, this was a really short chapter. But the next one will be longer.**

 **Please review.**


	29. The Kur Guardian

**Sarah's POV**

It's been a week. One whole, long, depressing week since I broke up with Zak, and since my dad and baby sister got into a tragic accident.

They're finally done with fighting to stay alive, and they should be released from the hospital in a few days, but, based on what my mom said, they're covered from head to toe in bandages, but they're special healing bandages, so they should be out of them in a couple weeks.

I was in a quiet, half emptied room in the Saturdays home when Doyle and Fiskerton entered it. I turned myself invisible and move to the corner while I listened to them talk about telling Zak something now and taking him on a fake week long training mission.

I didn't understand what they were talking about, and I was curious, so I followed along.

* * *

Doyle and Fiskerton had led Zak to a tree in a forest a few miles away. I was hiding in a tree about ten feet away, still invisible.

"Fisk's old tree?" Zak asked. "I don't get it. How is this part of my training?"

"It's not," Doyle replied.

Zak was confused. "What? You told Mom and Dad we were going on a week long training mission, and Fisk had to come help."

"Yeah, none of those parts were true."

I, of course, already knew that, that's why I followed them.

"Then why—" Zak tried.

"Because Fisk decided it was time to bring you in on this," Doyle interrupted.

"In on what?"

That's also what I would like to know.

"When Argost had Fisk in Weird World, they weren't alone. There was something else. Some kind of half serpent, half lady. Argost thought she could tell if Fisk was really the cryptid Kur."

"What?!" Zak asked, sounding just as surprised as I was. "Fisk is—"

Fiskerton protested.

"Turns out no," Doyle said. "But the serpent lady did call Fisk a Lemurian, said he wasn't Kur, but he can lead you to Kur."

Serpent lady, huh? I wonder if that's the one that Drew mentioned after she got that picture of the last Kur Stone piece.

"You know how to find Kur?" Zak asked Fiskerton. "And you told Doyle instead of me?"

He shook his head.

"Whoa, whoa, hey. Fisk didn't tell me anything," Doyle said. "I was there. And Fisk doesn't know how to find Kur, no idea what a Lemurian even is. But if his people have some connection to what can be the ultimate evil cryptid, you can see why he'd want to keep that quiet. For some reason, you're the only one he trusts."

Zak turned to Fiskerton. "Hey, you know I've got your back no matter what."

Fiskerton cheered and gave him a hug. I felt a little intrusive about spying on them and them not even knowing, but my curiosity always seems to get the best of me.

"So what are we doing back at Fisk's old tree?" Zak asked.

In response to his question, Doyle grabbed a couple of shovels and started digging at the base of the tree.

 _They're just wasting their time_ , my powers told me in my head.

Whenever they talk, it sounds like there's a lot of voices in my head, saying the same thing at the same time.

"I can tell," I agreed.

Even Zak seemed to as well. "Seriously? This was the best idea you had?"

"Unless you know more about Lemuria than we do," Doyle replied. "All we found online is that it's some kind of lost ancient civilization."

"I've heard of it, but I'm pretty sure it's not under this tree."

"Well, Fisk's tree is part of Fisk's past. Gotta start digging somewhere."

Fiskerton was digging with his bare hands like a dog, eating any maggots he found, and then he pulled out a snake.

"Whoa," Zak exclaimed.

"Careful," Doyle said. "That's poisonous."

He was right. Fiskerton threw it away. But then a lot more snakes came toward them. Fiskerton spit out all of the maggots he had stuffed in his mouth, but the snakes kept coming.

Fisk complained.

"Fisk," Zak said. "I don't think they're mad about the grubs."

The three of them began knocking them all away. They were even come toward me because they sensed me, thanks to my aura. I flew near the guys so that they wouldn't notice that.

A snake was about to bite Fiskerton on the neck and he didn't notice, but Zak grabbed it with the claw and knocked it away.

"See?" he told Fiskerton. "I told you I got your back."

He continued knocking them away. They started walking away from the snakes.

"I just remembered where I heard of Lemuria before," Zak said. "Abbey."

Hearing that name made Fiskerton seem all happy.

"Abbey?" Doyle asked.

"Our old babysitter," Zak explained. "She used to tell us bedtime stories about all the unexplained mysteries of the world."

"Your story-telling babysitter is Lemuria adjacent to Sparkle Pixy Land?"

"She's an expert on lost civilization. You don't think we could use one of those?"

"I don't know." Doyle knocked away another snake. "Is she cute?"

"Oh, she's more than cute."

More than cute? Oh, boy.

* * *

Zak led Doyle to some water port a long way from where they were. I was leaning my back against the wall of a storage building a few feet away.

"That's her," Zak said, pointing to a motor boat out into the water and coming their way.

The motor boat had wheels, and rolled up the dock and stopped right next to them.

"Ok, bad idea," Doyle said.

A woman exited out of the boat and Zak and Fiskerton waved to her. I assumed that that was Abbey, and, I'll admit, she was pretty.

 _Don't trust her_ , my powers told me.

"Oh, don't worry," I replied. "I won't."

I don't know why I shouldn't trust her, but our powers know a lot about ourselves than even we do, and my mom tells me that they never lie, so it's best to always listen to them, or you might regret it.

Doyle seemed to have fallen head of heels for her.

"It would be to leave before meeting girl," he said, stumbling over his words. He approached her. "Doyle Blackwell." He held out his hand. "Adventure for hire. Careful, I'm dangerous."

She just passed him by and continued walking toward Zak. I couldn't help but laugh. Unfortunately, they heard me and turned their heads in my direction. I clamped my mouth shut.

"Zak? Oh, look at you," Abbey said, giving him a hug. "I can't believe how big and handsome you've grown."

"Why, yes, I have," he replied, sounding like he was gloating, which he probably was. "How kind of you to notice."

He was definitely gloating. Doyle was confused. I rolled my eyes.

Abbey greeted Fiskerton as well. "Oh, and how's my favorite fur ball, hmm?"

Something didn't feel right. And I'm not talking about the boys acting like idiots just to get the damn attention of that woman, but I feel the presence of some kind of animal with my aura nearby, and the presence felt dark. I kept a sharp eye out, but it was hard to do that with the boys acting like idiots and not laughing at them for being that way.

They all climbed into Abbey's boat, which was also a hovercraft, and flew off somewhere. I let my Charizard out, climbed onto his back while also turning him invisible, and had him follow them.

I used my powers to also be able to hear what they were saying from inside the hovercraft. The boys were telling Abbey about Fiskerton and him being a Lemurian, and she suggested that they head to Egypt for some answers, so that's where they went.

* * *

After a little while, they finally got there and landed near the Great Sphinx. I put Charizard back in his Pokéball and continued to follow them. They exited out of it.

"I can't believe I babysat a real Lemurian," Abbey said. "How did you keep it a secret for so long?"

"He didn't know," Zak said, answering for Fiskerton.

They continued on.

"So, babysitter," Doyle said. "If you're not sure what we're looking for, why are we looking for it in Egypt?"

"Why, Doyle, don't you know?" Zak said, sounding like a smartass. "The search for all lost civilizations begins in Alexandria."

"I can't believe you actually remembered that," Abbey said.

"Oh, he remembers anything a cute girl tells him just to impress her," I muttered.

"Oh, I'm a great listener," Zak said.

Doyle whacked him on the head.

"Ow!"

"Yeah, do you hear that, you little . . ." Doyle faltered and followed after Abbey, and Fiskerton, Zak, and I followed too.

I wish Doyle did more than just whack him.

They descended down some stairs into a room with Egyptian inscriptions all over the walls, and the weirdest thing, I could actually read what they said. I remember my mom telling me that our powers allow us to read and speak any kind of language there was, sometimes without even realizing it.

"What we need is Alexandria's royal library," Abbey said. "The largest collection of knowledge from the ancient world."

"The library that burned down thousands of years ago?" Doyle asked.

"Ah, so we have a history buff."

"I'm kind of an everything buff." He flexed his muscles.

I rolled my eyes.

"Then, of course, you know that the fire was only a cover," Abbey said, not seeming the lest bit fazed by him. "A way to hide the library's most important secrets."

"Of course," Doyle said, though I could tell he didn't know that until now.

We started hear voices around us.

"Time to play dead," Abbey said.

The four of them moved under a shelf and I saw it move. I followed them through it.

They fell into an open sarcophagus. It closed and moved down what looked like some kind of elevator. It opened at the entrance of a door and dropped them out, then continued going down the elevator. Ok, that was weird. But, then again, this was a different country, and, for all we know, this could be normal for Egypt.

"Welcome to Serabian II," Abbey said. "The royal library of Alexandria. The Lemurian section is down here."

I felt the presence of that dark creature near by again. I couldn't see it anywhere. I don't know why or how, but it's following them.

"There's a Lemurian section?" Zak asked.

Abbey led them to it. "And this isn't all of it. The best stuff is stuck behind that door."

Fiskerton walked up to it, looking mesmerized by it.

"They say it was locked by the Lemurians themselves," Abbey continued.

"Well, I'm more of a kicky-punchy guy than a readie-thinky one," Doyle said. "So, you know, I'll let you guys get to it."

He sat down on the floor and leaned his head against the wall. Then, suddenly, the bookcase in front of him fell on top of him.

"Doyle!" Zak called.

He and Abbey ran over to help him, but Fiskerton was too focused on the door to notice. Abbey lifted the bookcase up while Zak pulled out Doyle from underneath it.

"I think you made the books mad," Zak said.

"Oh, yeah," Doyle said sarcastically. "That must be—"

He was interrupted when another bookcase fell over just a few feet away, and I swore I just saw a tail move from behind it.

"Alright, alright, I'll read," Doyle said.

That creature's presence was still here, and I knew it was knocking over the books. More bookshelves fell over, even the stands holding up the ceiling were falling over too.

"There's something else in here," Zak noticed.

"Those are low-bearing walls," Abbey said. "If they go, this whole place comes down."

I could see what she meant. The floor walls and ceiling were all crumbling to pieces.

"Hang on!" Doyle said, then lifted one of the bookshelves back up, holding the ceiling. "Kicky-punchy."

Abbey seemed impressed. Zak wasn't happy about that.

The floor shook and a hole appeared under where Doyle had just pushed up the shelf. It fell through.

"Hey," Doyle complained. "That was my hero moment."

Yeah, and how long do you think those last, dude?

The ceiling was collapsing now.

"Fisk, seriously," Zak said.

He was still focused on the door. Then, suddenly, it opened down and apart of the floor that they were standing on opened back, and they disappeared. I used my powers to follow them through and the library collapsed behind me.

It was dark behind the door. I hovered in the air above the others heads.

"Well, Lovely Locks, it seems you're officially a Lemurian," Abbey said to Fiskerton.

"Nice one, Fisk," Zak said.

Then the four of them began to move forward without either of them moving their feet.

"So, Brain girl, why is the floor moving?" Doyle asked.

"I—I don't know—" she faltered when they started moving farther and fell to the ground.

Thank God I have my super speed, or I would not have been able to keep up.

Fiskerton looked about ready to hurled.

"Just focus on the light, Fiskerton," Abbey told him. "Focus on the light."

He did.

* * *

After going through the light, and our vision cleared, we were in a new room.

"That was pretty cool, right?" Zak said.

No one answered.

"These inscriptions," Abbey said, walking up to them on the wall. "I think I can translate."

I could read it as if it were in English.

She turned to Fiskerton. "Fiskerton, are you sure you want me to read this? This room is meant for Lemurian eyes only. If your people have a dark secret past, this is where we'll find it."

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

She read them. "'Instructions to the Kur guardians'."

"Kur guardians?" Zak asked. "So Lemurians are Kur's body guards? And if my powers mean I'm suppose to fight Kur, does that mean me and Fisk—"

"It doesn't mean anything," Doyle interrupted. "Maybe Abbey got the translation wrong."

"I did not," she protested, sounding offended.

She wasn't wrong. I could read them too, and that is what they said.

"You said instructions," Zak said. "Fisk wants to know what they are. Look, if we're gonna uncover the ugly truth about his people, let's go all the way."

Abbey continued to translate. "'His wise eyes looked to the entrance of enlightenment'." She shrugged.

"Mean anything to you?" Doyle asked Fiskerton.

He shook his head.

"Wait. Where are we?" Abbey asked. She took out her GPS. "Remarkable."

"You care to share with the class there, Professor Babysitter?" Doyle asked.

"We're standing in the head of the Great Sphinx."

Really? I found that kind of cool.

"His wise eyes," Abbey continued.

There was a face carved between the eyes. Fiskerton walked up to it and placed his face in the carved face. The two eyes opened up and a bright light came through, blinding us. It shined a beam of light into the distance.

"28 degrees, 58 minutes, thirty-one seconds due east," Abbey marked with her GPS.

The light faded.

"We've got a heading voice. Come on."

The eyes began to close and the four of them jumped out of them before they could. Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that. I can just move through it like a ghost.

Abbey pressed a button on her device, and her hover craft was coming our way.

"Hovering capabilities," she said. "And that's not even my favorite feature."

They climbed into it.

"Shotgun," Zak said.

"Hey," Doyle groaned.

I rolled my eyes, again.

They flew off east. I let my Charizard out and we followed them.

"As long as we keep this heading in altitude, we should run smack into the entrance of enlightenment," Abbey said. "Whatever that is."

Zak moaned. "Fascinating."

My powers were showing me a vision of him staring at her like she was a queen.

I gagged.

 _You're jealous_ , my powers told me.

"Oh, shut up," I replied.

Ok, maybe I was. But I don't know why. I mean, like Zak has any chance with someone whose at least ten years older than him. Granted, my mom is more than sixty years older than my dad, but they're adults. That's different.

We flew for a while.

"Odd," Abbey said. "This heading takes us right into the side of that mountain. I better switch to chopper mode so we can look around."

"Fisk, what are you doing?" Zak asked.

"Have you lost your mind?" Doyle asked.

The hovercraft began shaking from side to side. I had my powers show me a vision of what was going on inside. Fiskerton was taking the controls from Abbey and kept the hovercraft going straight toward the mountain. He sensed something there that they couldn't see, and I did too.

"Charizard, I'm going to put you away now," I said, and put him in his Poké ball.

I was still flying behind them. I heard them screaming. A second later, we passed through the mountain and into a tunnel.

"Wait ago, Fisk," Zak said. "But how did you know that rock was an illusion?"

He shrugged.

"What? You almost flew us into a mountain on a guess?"

He nodded.

"Looks like the Lemurian instinct is kicking in," Abbey said. "So where are we?" She looked at her GPS, but it wasn't working. "That's odd. The GPS won't tell us our—"

She faltered when the tunnel led us to some kind of city in gold.

"Whoa," Zak said.

I nodded in agreement.

"It's Shangri-La," Abbey said.

She was right. I remember learning about it at school and the descriptions of it were almost right.

Doyle gasped. "The Shangri-La? Yeah, ok, that was just for show. What are we talking about here?"

I rolled my eyes. Classic Doyle.

"The mythic paradise in the Himalayas," Abbey said. "I had no idea there was a Lemurian connection, but, Fiskerton, is this where your people came from?"

He, of course, didn't know.

We flew to the temple and landed next to it. The four of them exited out and went inside. Some of the statues and pillars were destroyed.

"Looks like your home town got tagged, Gorilla Man," Doyle said. "Anybody else getting really sick of snakes?"

No one answered. They just continued along.

Then Fiskerton ran ahead suddenly.

"Fisk?" Zak asked.

They ran after him. There were some doors ahead, and Fiskerton pushed them open. In the center of the next room laid a big gold cube.

"Abbey, what is that?" Zak asked.

"I've never seen anything like it," she replied. "It's not in any of the books on Lemuria."

"Ah. And once more, readie-thinky lets us down," Doyle said.

Sometimes, I don't understand him. I mean, he clearly likes her, but he tends to insult her at times on purpose. Usually, a guy would never do that to a girl he likes. I will never understand how teasing and making fun of someone supposedly gets their attention in a romantic way.

"Yes. Well, maybe you should go punch the old tern," Abbey retorted. "See how well that works."

Fiskerton was one step ahead of him. He punched the cube a few times, bending it all over, and then it began floating in the air and the cubes moved around to form a head. The head looked like Fiskerton's.

"This one in the books?" Doyle asked Abbey.

"Uh-uh," she replied.

 _Long have we awaited your arrival, young Lemurian,_ it said without moving its lips. _There are a great many things to pass on to you. Millennia of our history and culture._

"Is anybody else hearing the brick monkey talk inside their brain?" Zak asked.

"Telepathic communication, of course," Abbey said. "It's the only way to be sure everyone hears in its own language."

She was right.

 _Many ages have past since our people were scattered across this world and beyond,_ the brick monkey head continued. _You, my kindred, maybe the last Kur guardian left on earth._

Fiskerton seemed surprised by that.

"Hey, Brick Face," Zak said, moving between him and Fiskerton. "Fisk isn't gonna be anybody's guardian."

Fiskerton agreed, then crossed his arms and turned away.

 _You reject your own heritage?_ the brick monkey face asked. _Impossible. No creature can escape its nature._

"You're wrong," Doyle spoke up. "I got brought up like a punk thug and trained to be a crooked mercenary. But after I met my real family, I'm not that guy anymore."

I couldn't help but smile at that. It was true.

"My, you are dangerous," Abbey said.

"Like a hurricane, baby," Doyle replied.

"Hey, Doyle," Zak said. "Focus."

 _This was . . . unexpected,_ the brick monkey face said. _I don't—_

Suddenly, the brick monkey was pushed into the floor by a big yellow snake. I realized that that snake was the creature I've been sensing all day. How did it keep up with them?

"It's her," Doyle said. "From Weird World."

She grabbed him and held him against a beam. Then she turned toward Zak and Fiskerton. Fiskerton grabbed Zak and jumped away from her. Abbey tried to help, but the three of them together couldn't fight her. Fiskerton knocked her on the head. Abbey then kicked her away, knocking her into a beam.

"Oh, and she fights too," Doyle said.

"I know," Zak agreed.

Guys love girls that are pretty and can fight.

Parts of the bricks from the monkey were swirling around Fiskerton.

"Hang on, Fisk," Zak called. "I'm coming!"

He ran to him and tried to break away the bricks, but couldn't.

"What's with these things?"

The snake woman tied up Doyle and Abbey against the beams with vines and pulled tightly on them. Then she went after Zak.

I decided that this was the time for me to act.

She knocked him away and turned to Fiskerton. "Kur will be revealed. You cannot stop it, guardian."

She scratched at the bricks, but they wouldn't move. I turned myself visible and high-jump-kicked her in the head. She didn't see it coming. Of course, nobody did.

"Sarah?" Zak asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Zak," I said. "Umm, how about we wait for explanations?"

The snake woman began attacking the two of us.

 _Embrace who you are,_ I heard the brick monkey say to Fiskerton. _The future may depend on it. You must guard this world from the evil of Kur._

Then it broke into many pieces.

"Guard the world from Kur?" Zak asked. "Fisk, your people are the good guys."

The snake woman appeared behind us. Fiskerton growled and attacked her, the floating bricks helping him.

Zak and I were watching with amazement.

Fiskerton managed to grab her tail and threw her outside.

"How cool are you, Fisk?" Zak said. "The Kur guardian. Guarding the world from Kur."

I smiled.

"Looks like you're still on the same team," Doyle said.

Abbey managed to untie the vines from around her and was now working on his. After she got his off, he fell to the ground.

" _On_ the same team?" Zak said. "We _are_ the team. Right, brother?"

They gave each other a high-five. That was cute.

* * *

We all were walking back to Abbey's hovercraft.

"So, Sarah, you didn't answer my question," Zak said. "Why are you here?"

"I overheard Doyle and Fiskerton talking earlier about telling you something and I was curious, so I followed along," I replied.

"Yeah, sure that's why you followed along," Doyle said mockingly.

I knew what he meant and glared at him. "That is the only reason why. So you can shut up now."

"You're a tough young girl," Abbey noted.

"Yeah, I get it from my mom."

"She does," Doyle agreed.

We got inside the hovercraft, and I, of course, had to sit next to Zak.

"I'd like to ask Doc and Drew a few questions about that serpent woman," Abbey said. "If it's alright to tell them your secrets now."

Fiskerton nodded.

"Hey, so, speaking of questions, we should go out sometime," Doyle said to Abbey. "I know this café in Bellerose."

"I'll get my parka," she replied.

Zak gasped. "What? It was that easy? It's not suppose to be that easy. That wasn't even a question."

"Actually, Zak, it can be that easy," I said. "You just have to have the guts to ask."

Maybe it was a little too harsh, but I didn't care. He kind of deserved it.

We flew all the way back to the Saturdays home in silence.

* * *

 **Well, this should be fun.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	30. My Baby Sister Wants my Ex-Boyfriend

**Sarah's POV**

Ok, fine. You want me to admit it, right?

I hate Abbey. To me, she's such a bitch. Why Zak has some freaky ass crush on her, I don't know. And why do I even care? I don't know that either. And Doyle? Well, he's Doyle. I'm really not surprised by that at all.

We all were in the living room of the Saturdays home. Abbey was talking to Doc and Drew about Fiskerton's Lemurian heritage. Zak was practically drooling over her, which made me almost burn her face off with my fire power.

"Get a grip, Sarah," Zack whispered to me.

"Yeah," Selena agreed. "You're the one that broke up with him."

"Shut up," I replied.

Of course, they're the only ones who can actually tell how I feel just by looking at me. Well, except maybe Drew and Komodo. He was giving me pity by standing right next to me with his tail wrapped around my leg. I was glad for that.

"Hey, guys," someone greeted softly.

My mom entered the room, carrying what looked like a small mummy in her arms. Then I realized that it was Emily. The animals were with them.

"Mom!" Zack and I said.

We ran up to her.

"Hey," she said. "Someone wants to say hi."

I looked up at Emily. Every part of her body was covered with bandages except her face. She was laying her head on Mom's shoulder and her eyes were open. She was looking at me the same way she did when I first held her after Mom had given birth to her.

 _Sarah_ , she thought, my powers allowing me to read her mind.

I wanted to cry with joy, just like that first day. I think Zack did too.

"Hi," I told her softly. "Can I hold her?"

"Yes, but you have to be very gentle," Mom said.

"I always have been."

"I know, but now you have to be even more gentle than usual. She's still in a lot of pain."

"Ok."

She handed Emily to me slowly. I held her close and she looked around at everybody.

"Emily, this is the Saturday family," I told her. "Guys, this is my baby sister, Emily."

Everyone greeted her. Then my mom noticed Abbey.

"Oh, hello," she said. "I'm Sarah and Zack's mother, Raylee. And you are?"

"My name's Abbey," Abbey replied. "I use to be Zak's babysitter and now I'm Doyle's girlfriend."

"Oh, well, that's nice."

"Yes, it is. Umm, your baby daughter, Emily, what happened to her?"

"My husband, her father, was driving drunk with her in the car and they got into a terrible accident, both of them with life-threatening injuries. But they managed to get past it, especially Emily, after being 'gone' three times."

"I thought you said she was only gone twice," I said.

"She went one more time after the last time you and I talked," Mom replied. "But now, she and your dad are recovering. And they both should make a full recovery."

"I'm glad," Abbey said.

Emily was getting a little fussy for some reason.

"What is it, Emily?" I asked her.

"I think she wants Zak to hold her," Mom said.

It took me a moment to realize that she wasn't referring to my twin brother, but, in fact, my ex-boyfriend. Emily was holding her arm out to him and making the kind of noise she usually does when she wants something. And what she wants right now is Zak.

I was reluctant to give my baby sister to him. I think he was too, because the expression on his face was practically saying 'Keep that thing away from me'. Though I could just be imagining that, I hope I wasn't.

"Why does she want Zak to hold her?" I asked, trying to keep my tone from sounding angry. "She usually doesn't let anyone she just met hold her, like a 'stranger danger' kind of thing."

"I know," Mom said. "But she apparently feels that Zak is safe to her and she wants to let him know that by letting him hold her." She turned to Zak. "What do you say, Zak? Do you want to hold her?"

He hesitated. "Umm, sure."

I looked at Mom, begging her with my eyes not to give Emily to Zak.

"Give her to him, Sarah," she said.

I sighed. I knew better than to argue with her, no matter how much I wanted to. I walked over to Zak and handed him Emily. But as soon as he took her, I wanted to punch him.

"Zak, she's my baby sister, not a damn football," I said angrily.

"Sorry," was all he said.

"Sarah, how about you show him how to hold her?" Mom suggested.

"Fine," I said.

I propped her up against his shoulder, but Zak still looked uneasy about it. Emily smiled at him, which seemed to make him even more uneasy.

Mom and Zack laughed.

"Zak, have you ever held a baby before?" Mom asked.

"No," he replied. "I've never really seen one in person before."

"Obviously," I said.

"Well, you'll get the hang of it, eventually," Mom assured him. "Sarah, can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

"Sure, Mom."

"Umm, Zak, if Emily becomes too much for you to handle, just give her to Zack or Selena, unless any of you guys would like to carry her next."

Zak was probably hoping that somebody would volunteer to take her, but sadly for him, nobody did. I took a quick picture of him with my phone before Mom and I left the room.

"I'm gonna make that my new screen saver," I said.

Mom laughed. "Stop teasing him, Sarah."

"Fine. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Zak."

"Umm, ok. What about him?"

We entered her bedroom. Mom sat down on the bed. I had a sudden déjà vu moment from the other day.

"Oh, no," I said. "Mom, don't."

"Don't what?" she asked, pretending like she didn't know what I meant.

"Don't you dare tell me that I should forgive Zak for what he did to me. Zack, my twin brother, has already beaten you to it and I'm not going to listen to either of you, so don't bother."

She sighed. "Ok, first of all, Sarah, I know Zack beat me to it because he's the one that told me about it. And second of all, I'm not going to tell you to do anything. I just want to ask you why you won't listen to Zak's explanation."

"Explanation? Don't you mean excuse?"

"It's only an excuse if you saw Zak kiss Wadi, and did you?"

"Yes, I did."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"So you're telling me you saw Zak lean into Wadi and kiss her with your own eyes?"

I hesitated before answering. "Maybe."

"Sarah, what happened up to that moment?" Mom asked.

I thought about it for awhile. "Umm . . . I was running in front of all of them and they were trying to keep up with me."

"Ok. Then what happened?"

"I didn't feel like they were following me anymore, so I stopped and turned around. Then that's when I saw them kissing."

Mom stared at me for a moment. "So you saw them kissing."

"Yes," I replied.

"And they're lips were already touching before you turned around?"

I hesitated. "I think so."

Mom sighed. "Sarah, you didn't see who kissed who. But your brother and Selena did, because they were behind them, right?"

"I . . . yeah. But _—_ "

"Sarah."

I looked at her. The expression on her face told me that I was wrong. And I realized it myself. I sat down on the other side of the bed and cried.

"I'm an idiot," I said.

"No, you're not," Mom said. "It was your very first relationship, Sarah. You can't expect it to last long. And, usually, first relationships don't. Mine barely lasted a month. And now, so has yours."

"But I don't want it to end with me and Zak, Mom. But, then again, I still don't know how he and Wadi ended up kissing."

"Didn't Zack tell you?"

"He tried to, but I stopped him when he mentioned my brother."

Mom had a confused look on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"Sarah, I meant did Zack, your brother, tell you," she said. "Not Zak, your ex-boyfriend."

"Oh. We've really got to change one of their names. It's really confusing to know which one we're referring to sometimes. And, yes, Zack, my brother, did tell me. But it doesn't make sense to me."

"Well, do you miss Zak?"

I wanted to deny it like I have been, but I can't to my mom.

I nodded. "Yes. But I don't know whether or not I want to forgive him. And, like I said, I don't know if that happened by accident or not. What do you think I should do?"

"Sarah, I'm pretty sure you already know my answer to that," Mom said. "You need to learn this stuff on your own and not base it on what others tell you. There's nothing wrong with asking for help, but you can't keep asking for help with every problem that you have. You need to be able to do it on your own. But, if you want my advice, try listening to Zak's side of the story and then decide on whether or not you should forgive him, ok?"

"Ok. But I kind of think that it's too late."

"Why? Because he's crushing on Abbey, who's, like, more then ten years older than him?"

"Good point. But, Mom, you're more than sixty years older than Dad."

"I know, but we're adults. Zak's still a kid, and so are you."

"True. But I still don't think that Zak will talk to me."

"I'm sure he will. Now you better go get him before Emily does."

"Yeah, uh, what's with her today? Why did she want Zak to hold her?"

Mom shrugged. "I don't know. She may have been telling you that you had your chance and now it's her turn."

I laughed. "You really think that that's why she wanted Zak to hold her was to make a move on him?"

"I hope not. But you never know."

"Yeah, well, I guess we should get back to them."

"Hold on, Sarah," Mom said. "I want to ask you about Abbey first. What do you think about her?"

"I hate her," I replied.

"Why? Is it because Zak likes her?"

"Yes and no. I just don't feel like we should trust her."

"Did your powers say anything about her?"

I nodded. "Yeah. When I met her, my powers told me not to trust her. Though, I didn't really need them to tell me that because I wasn't going to trust her either way."

"Yeah, my powers told me the same thing. But I'm not the type of person to talk to about trust."

"Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it. And I don't think we should tell the Saturdays about Abbey, especially since we don't really know why we shouldn't trust her."

"I agree. Doyle and Zak especially won't listen to us."

"Yeah. Now let's get out of here."

We left the room and went back to the living room where everybody was. The first thing I noticed was that Selena was holding Emily now. I walked up to her.

"Zak gave her to me as soon as the door closed behind you," she told me.

"I'm sure he did," I said.

Mom took Emily from her. "Well, I better go put her to bed. I'll see you guys later."

"It was nice meeting you," Abbey said.

"You too." Mom turned to the animals. "Do you guys wanna stay?"

"Nah," they replied.

"Ok. Bye, guys."

She and the others teleported away.

I looked at Zak and thought about talking to him now, but I decided to wait. At least until we find out what Abbey's secret is.

 _You will find out very soon._

* * *

 **In case you guys can't tell, the one who said that last sentence were their powers. And, for those of you who have watched the series, you know what they're going to find out.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	31. Food of the Giants

**Zak's POV**

Giants? Nice.

Doyle and Abbey were playing a video game in the living room, and she was beating him. Fisk, Sarah, Zack (he was a little upset because his girlfriend, Selena, had to go home a little while ago), and I were watching them.

Sarah had seemed somewhat different toward me since Abbey's been here, and I wasn't not sure why. Abbey just beat Doyle again for the second time in a row.

"I get winner, right?" I said. "I'll show the little lady how a real man frags alien death troopers."

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"You shouldn't call someone taller than you 'little'," Zack said.

I ignored him.

"You know what?" Doyle said to Abbey. "We should get married."

"What?!" Abbey asked, completely surprised, just as much as we were. Except Fiskerton, who seemed to like the idea.

Then Doyle destroyed her plane on the game. He cheered at his victory. "Oh, and kidding, by the way."

"That's not something you kid about," Sarah said.

"What?" Abbey said in disbelief. "Oh, you cheating, slimy dog."

"Ok. Me and Doyle then," I said.

"Rematch?" Abbey asked Doyle.

"On," he replied.

They played another game.

"Hey. Am I not even here?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. Hey, miniman, you wanna get me a soda? You need anything there, baby?"

They were completely ignoring me, and I didn't like it.

I grabbed the claw and aimed it at them. "Eeni, mini—"

"No," Mom finished.

She and Dad had entered the room from behind me, along with Raylee and the animals.

"I was just trying to get their attention," I said. "Ever since they started dating, it's like 'Oooo, sorry, we can't hear anybody outside of our personal love cocoon'."

"Zak, I know it's weird seeing your uncle with your old babysitter," Mom said. "But Doyle's had a rough life. Doesn't he deserve a little happiness?"

"Yeah, but Abbey is my . . . babysitter."

Then we heard a ringing sound.

"What is that?" I asked.

Fiskerton found what was making the sound and held up a little box.

"Again, what is it?"

"Our landline," Dad said. "It's a phone."

"We have a non-video phone? Why?"

Dad pressed a button on it. "Hello?"

"Hello, uh, Doctor Saturday?" a man's voice on.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Bud Harger. Harger Logging. Uh, last night one of my camps was attacked. Two men were taken. I'm offering a reward for any help with—"

"Uh, Mr. Harger, I'm very sorry about your men, but that's not really the sort of work we do. How did you get this number?"

"Anonymous tip. Uh, listen, they told me missing persons wasn't your thing, but they did say you might be interested in _what_ took them."

That was enough to get us to go.

* * *

So we headed to the Allegheny Mountains. We met Bud Harger, and he showed us his camp that got attacked.

"Something powerful came through here," Dad said, noticing all of the trees smashed down. "I'll take a look around."

And he went off.

"You said one of your loggers saw something?" Mom asked Harger.

"Uh, Ruby," he replied. "I'll introduce you."

And they went off too.

I was sitting on a stump, pouting a little bit, when Doyle came over.

"Hey, look, I know you had puppy love for your ex-babysitter," he told me. "But no hard feelings I got the girl, right?"

"What? No," I said. "I don't care what—I mean, just because some people might wonder what's so much better about you than me."

"Umm, you're eleven. You know, to be honest, Fisk was bigger competition."

He gestured over to him giving Abbey a gift. First, a bouquet of flowers, than a bird. Abbey took them, thanked him, and let the bird fly away. Fisk wasn't happy about that.

"You two are such assholes," Raylee said, which was a little hurtful. "Trying to get a girl to like you as a competition is stupid and idiotic. If I were her, I wouldn't date either of you since you two clearly don't know what a relationship is really about."

Sarah nodded in agreement, which hurt me even more.

"Oh, dammit."

"What?" Zack asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing. I just hate it when people say what they would or would not do in certain situations and I say it myself without even thinking."

"It's kind of hard not to say that sometimes," Sarah said.

"Yeah."

Mom was talking to Ruby a few feet away.

"It was big," Ruby said. "Hairy, razor sharp teeth, and claws. Looked at us like a starving man looks at a steak."

"Anything else you remember?" Mom asked. "Hair color? Straight or curly claws?"

"It's an allegewi," Dad said, looking at a big foot print. "Based on the tear patterns on the trees and the size of these footprints and Ruby's description, I don't see what else it could be."

"I'm sorry, an allegewi?" Harger asked.

"Part of a legendary tribe of giants from these very mountains," Mom explained.

"Are you kidding me? I got a giant on my land?"

"We'll need to find your men soon," Dad said. "The allegewi were man-eaters."

"Whoa," Doyle said. "You guys should ask for double the reward money."

They glared at him.

"Right. Old habits."

"And they die hard," Raylee added.

"Take the four-wheeler back to base camp," Harger told Ruby. "You'll be safe there."

She nodded and went off.

"Wait. You're coming with us?" I asked.

"We're a public company. I'd, uh, like to make sure this stays quiet."

"We can do quiet without you, Mr. Harger," Mom said. "It isn't safe here—"

"My land. My men. My call."

"Then let's get moving," Dad said.

He and Harger moved away.

"Is anybody else wondering if we can trust this Harger?" Abbey asked.

"You suspect something?" Doyle asked.

"More a combination of things. He's been dodgy from the start. An anonymous tip? How many people even have your number? And now he insists on running _toward_ danger?"

"What are you suggesting?" Mom asked.

"I don't know. But I can do some digging. Satellite Wi-Fi. Web in the wilderness."

"Tell me what you find."

"Actually, my powers say that there's nothing wrong with him," Raylee said.

"Well, only one way to find out."

Raylee doesn't like Abbey for some reason. She's been obvious about it since yesterday. And she and her pets have all been keeping a close eye on her.

We all followed my dad into the forest. I looked around on air, riding Zon.

"I couldn't see anything from the sky," I said.

"That's because the trail's gone cold," Dad said.

"Just like that?" Doyle asked.

"No, it's been covered up," Mom said. "Which means whatever we're following, knows we're following it."

"She's right," Sarah said.

"So now we're chasing a smart cannibalistic giant," Doyle said. "For free."

"Doyle, maybe you should take Abbey back—" Dad started.

"Abbey wouldn't be out here if she couldn't handle it," he interrupted. "She's strong, and smart, and—"

"She smells like nectarines," I added.

Everybody stared at me.

"Uh, scientific observation."

Then we heard her scream.

"Abbey!" Doyle called.

We ran in the direction of where we heard it come from. When we got to her, she was lying on the ground.

Doyle helped her up. "Where is it?"

"It wasn't the allegewi," she said. "It was Harger."

"Harger?" I asked.

"He saw me working. He knows what I found out about his company. This isn't his land. The government shut it down decades ago after loggers kept disappearing."

"Then why—" Dad started.

"Money. Why else? He stole the land with fraudulent lease. He doesn't care about his men. All he saw was free timber."

Dad was mad, and so were we. But the Hollingers didn't seem convinced, though they didn't say anything.

"Which way did he run?" Dad asked Abbey.

She pointed to her left. We all ran in that direction, but the Hollingers weren't as fast and were lagging behind for some reason.

"He can't be that far," Dad said.

Then, suddenly, he and I stepped onto a trap and were lifted into a net.

"Hang on," Mom told us. "Fisk, get ready to catch the net."

She unsheathed her fire sword, and tried to shoot a fire ball from it, but it wouldn't work. "What?"

Doyle tried his jetpack, but it started smoking. "My jetpack's fried too."

He took it off of him, slammed it to the ground, and rolled away just before it exploded. But he rolled right into another trap, and then he was caught in a net like me and Dad too.

"Doyle," I said.

I tried the claw, and it broke into pieces, which I really didn't like. Dad tried his power glove, and it wouldn't power up.

Abbey looked through her bag of stuff. "It's all trashed."

"Harger must've sabotaged our gear," Mom said. "That's why he insisted on coming."

Fisk walked up to the tree that we were hanging on.

"Fiskerton, be careful," Abbey told him.

He jumped onto the tree, and he triggered a trap, but he jumped away before it got him. Then there were traps all over the ground that could wrap around their ankles and lift them up.

Abbey got caught in one. Mom did too, after avoiding most of the ones she triggered. Komodo went through some grass and got himself caught in a net trap, and hung right next to us. Fisk avoided a lot of traps, but he got caught in a caged one that came from either side of him that he had no chance of avoiding. Zon got slammed to the ground when a heavy basket landed on her.

All of us were caught except for the Hollingers. They climbed into the trees, that no longer had anymore traps in them.

"Well, I've gotta admit, you're good at setting a trap," Raylee said.

Why did she say "you" and not "him"?

"Harger! Show yourself," Dad called. "Harger!"

He appeared out of the bushes, acting surprised to see us. "What in the name of—" he started, but then his ankle got caught in a rope and he was lifted up into the air. "What is this? What are you people doing?"

"Tip from me to you," I told him. "Don't even try the innocent act on my parents. It only makes them angrier."

I knew that from experience.

"No, guys," Raylee said. "He really is innocent."

"Now that's the kind of work I expect from my apprentice," we heard a familiar voice say.

Van Rook suddenly appeared on a video screen on the ground.

My family and I looked accusingly at Doyle.

"Doyle?" I asked.

"After all this, you're still working for him?" Dad asked. "We took you into our family."

"Hey, he's lying, alright?" Doyle protested.

"He's right," Raylee said.

"No," Van Rook said. "I'm just not talking about you."

Suddenly, Abbey cut her rope off with a knife she had hidden in her boot and landed on the ground. Then she removed a leafy cover-up to reveal a box, opened it up, and put on a white mask, a jet pack, grabbed a kind of gun and aimed it at us.

"Sorry," she said. "It's not personal. It's money."

My family and I were all shocked, even the Hollingers seemed to be as well.

"How much, Abbey?" Doyle asked. "How much did you get for selling your soul to Van Rook?"

"Van Rook?" Harger said. "Leonidas Van Rook? That's—that's the man who sold me this land."

"And don't think it was cheap," he said. "Arranging the phony sale of forbidden government land."

"Not cheap?" Mom said. "That doesn't sound like you. Who paid for this setup?"

"Turns out you have a lot of enemies. I took up a collection."

The screen was turning fuzzy.

"Van Rook?" Abbey asked. "I'm losing your signal."

"Did I tell you not to go with a discount set com provider?" Doyle said.

Van Rook appeared back on the screen. "Hurt him extra." Then he disappeared off the screen.

"Just so you know, you're the worst babysitter ever," I said.

I felt like saying something hurtful to her.

"How long?" Doyle asked her.

"He recruited me right after you quit," she replied. "Figured the family connection might come in useful. But, my feelings for you, that part was always—"

"Just do what your paid for."

"Oh, I'm not the one doing it. You think we set all this up just to shoot you? No. The giant cryptid is going to eat you. Sorry, but people pay extra for hectic vengeance. Goodbye, Doyle."

She blew him a kiss and started up her jetpack, but then was knocked into a tree when the giant appeared behind her and she became unconscious.

The giant growled and walked toward us.

"Zak?" Mom said.

I knew what she meant.

I activated my powers. "It's too focused on its hunger. All it wants to do is eat."

Sarah and her family jumped down from the trees and landed between the giant and us with their swords drawn and powers activated. The giant was a little annoyed by them, but instead ignored them and went to us, breaking our nets and cages and dropping us on the ground.

"It—it doesn't wanna eat us," Harger said. "It's letting us go."

"No, it's not," Sarah said.

"She's right," I agreed. "It's a predatory thing. It has to hunt its food."

"Just like we do," Amber said.

The giant growled.

"Run!" Dad said.

And that we did.

Zon had a broken wing, so Fiskerton carried her. Doyle also picked up Abbey since she was still unconscious.

"How much farther to your camp?" he asked Harger.

"I'm not going back to camp," he replied. "Not while my men are still out here."

"What?"

"No, he's right, Doyle," I said. "If the allegewi wanted to hunt us, maybe it did the same thing with them. They could still be alive."

"And how are we staging a rescue carrying someone who's gonna stab us in the back the second she wakes?"

Abbey began to stir. We stopped running for a moment and Doyle dropped her on the ground.

"Oops," he said sarcastically. "I guess I tripped."

Half of us couldn't use our weapons, so we picked up some sticks while the others had their swords and held them at her. The animals stood ready to attack. (They look mean when they're angry. You definitely never want to mess with them.)

She woke up and noticed us holding weapons to her. "Sticks? I take it things aren't going well for us."

"There is no 'us'," Mom corrected. "There's _us_ figuring out what to do about you."

"Van Rook's apprentices know how to take care of themselves," Doyle said. "I say we leave her."

"Not an option," Dad said. "Not with the allegewi out—"

Komodo and the animals growled in the direction behind us.

"They've got something," I said.

Then, suddenly, the giant jumped out of the trees and landed in front of us. He picked up a tree out of its roots and swiped it at us. We barely dodged it. Fiskerton attacked him at the legs while still carrying Zon.

"Fisk!" I called.

I still had my stick in hand and charged at the giant. He pushed Fisk away and rolled a boulder at me. I barely dodged it and lost my stick, falling on the ground in the process. Doyle helped me up and we all continued to run.

The giant followed.

"Everyone up in the tree," Mom said, pointing to a tall one a few feet ahead of us.

We all climbed up it.

"You think he can't climb?" Doyle said.

"He kind of doesn't need to," Zack said. "He is taller than it, after all."

"Just get up there and hang on," Mom said.

She cut the tree down with her fire sword and jumped on after it fell. Then we began to slide down the hill, surprisingly missing every tree we passed. The animals were running beside us, and the giant was following behind.

"Way to go, Mom," I said.

Then I looked forward and noticed that we were about to fall into a chasm.

"We got it!" Raylee said. "Sarah? Zack?"

"Ready!" they both said.

They activated their powers and, when we fell into the chasm, we were floating, trying to get to the other side. But, all of a sudden, we got hit by a fireball that came out of nowhere, breaking the tree in half, and we all fell into the chasm. Hard.

The giant didn't follow us down, but the animals did.

We stood up from the ground, rubbing our heads.

"Where did that come from?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know," Raylee replied. "But I have a feeling we'll find out soon."

* * *

Doyle tied Abbey's hands behind her back.

"And what do I do the next time the giant attacks?" she asked.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Doyle said and walked off.

I turned to her. "We could've been something, Abbey."

"No, we couldn't," she said.

"But, yeah, I know. I mean, I'm just saying, maybe."

"You're eleven."

"No, but like in an alternate universe where I'm ten years older."

"Or she's ten years younger," Sarah offered.

"Ok," Abbey said. "Maybe."

I shook my head. "You threw it all away for money."

I walked off too.

Dad and Doyle seemed to be having a good conversation on heat seeking.

"Wow," Raylee said. "I think that's the nicest conversation they've ever had so far. And they agree."

"I'm sorry about Abbey," Dad told Doyle.

"Thanks," he said.

"I mean, if anybody in that relationship was gonna be secretly evil, I'd put my money on—"

Mom knocked her elbow into him before he could finish, which was probably good.

"Well, we'll leave it at sorry."

"Ok, forget what I said a minute ago," Raylee said.

Sarah and I were making an open-carrying bag for Zon so that it would be easier for Fiskerton to carry her.

"Hey, guys, check it out," I said, showing it off. "Traveling with a broken wing in style."

Zon liked it. Fisk? Not so much.

"Ok, we've even the odds a bit," Mom said. "But don't forget what we're dealing with. This is the allegewi's hunting ground. He's caught us off guard once already and—"

She was interrupted when we heard a growling sound. We fanned out. But then we heard Shillow growl and bark a few times. She ran at me.

I thought she was going to attack me, but at the last second she jumped over me and instead attacked whatever was behind me. A man to be exact, and she had him pinned down. She grabbed the stick he was holding with her jaw and pulled it away from him.

Everyone ran over.

"Wyatt!" Harger called.

"Bud?" the man, whom I assumed was Wyatt, said.

"Shillow, get off of him," Raylee told her.

She did as she was told.

Harger helped Wyatt up and hugged him. "You're alive. I knew you had it in you, mountain man."

"It got us, Bud," he said. "In its cave. I swear it was gonna eat us, but I had this stick and I got it, right in the foot. Distracted the monster long enough to get away."

"There were two of you missing," Dad said to Wyatt. "Where's the other—"

He was interrupted when we heard the giant roar.

"I—I guess I didn't distract it enough," Wyatt said.

We started running.

"If you count the gorilla and the dino bird as one, that's twenty of us," Harger said.

Fiskerton and Zon didn't like that.

"You're gonna wanna count them separately," I said.

"Ok. Twenty-one of us. That still gives us three groups of—"

"No groups," Dad interrupted. "Doyle and I are going in for the last logger."

"Hey, I think it's great you two bonded," Mom told him. "But this really isn't the time for macho pride."

We heard the giant roar.

"She's right," Doyle agreed. "I don't mind more people going in. Maybe even different people, I am easy."

"This isn't macho pride," Dad said. "It's bait. We're going in there to draw the allegewi out here. And you make much better low tech backward traps than I do."

Mom nodded in agreement. Then turned toward Doyle. "Doyle, I'm sorry, but we'll need as much man power as possible."

He knew what she meant.

"Watch her." He cut the vines from around Abbey's hands.

"Oh, don't worry," Raylee said. "We will."

"Van Rook doesn't hire apprentices unless he knows they'll finish the job," Doyle said.

Abbey sighed. "Look, I don't want to get eaten more than the rest of you. They'll be time for business later."

"Time to go, Doyle," Dad said.

They picked up some sticks and ran inside the cave.

"We'll need wood, as much as you can find," Mom said.

We all ran off to get some, which was easy to get with the Hollingers super strength and all.

Sarah and I got some vines together and put sap all over it. Everyone else put together a couple of catapults and set easy enough to carry boulders right next to them. Some of the wood we also used for torches and Zack provided the fire for them.

We were all ready. Mom and Abbey held torches, Wyatt and Harger catapults, and the rest of us were going to attack the giant head on.

A few minutes later, Dad and Doyle ran out of the cave with the other logger and the giant was close behind them. Mom and Abbey held their torches up to stop him.

"Now!" Mom said.

Wyatt and Harger launched boulders at the giant. Some of us threw sticks and Sarah, Zack, and Raylee threw fireballs.

"Fisk, Zon, go!" Mom said.

They ran between the giants legs and hit them, then they pushed it in the back and it fell onto mine and Sarah's vine trap.

"What's on the vines?" Dad asked.

"Hickory sap," Mom replied. "Zak's idea."

"Nature is my weapon," I said.

"Mine too," Sarah said.

"So what do we do with the monster?" Doyle asked.

"Relocation, I suppose," Dad said. "We'll need somewhere with plenty of open land and zero human population."

"That wasn't the one I meant." He was referring to Abbey.

"This doesn't have to happen, Doyle," she said. "There's a job to finish, but your family doesn't have to go just yet."

Doyle laughed a little. "And since when do you control the situation?"

"Oh, I don't. He does."

She grabbed the knife out of her boot and threw it at the vine net, cutting it up. The giant stood up. Abbey ran away.

That made me mad.

"Fisk, Hammer throw," I said.

"Make it a double," Doyle said.

He grabbed both of our arms and threw us at Abbey. We grabbed onto her and we went tumbling down a hill, stopping near the edge of a chasm. Then we noticed the giant running toward us.

"Tell your family I'm sorry," Abbey said.

She pushed us both away and the giant tackled her into the chasm.

"Abbey!" we called.

We looked down into the chasm, hearing her scream all the way down, but she was gone.

Our family came up behind us.

"She—she sacrificed herself to save me and Zak," Doyle said.

"I guess she loved both of us," I said. "In, you know, different ways."

We heard a sound from the chasm. We looked back and noticed her. She was climbing down with a grappling hook.

"Tell your family I'm sorry," she told us. "But I will have to finish that job some day."

"Man, she's good," Doyle said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

Then, suddenly, some force pushed me forward and I fell into the chasm.

"Zak!" Sarah called.

She jumped into the chasm and flew toward me. She reached me and grabbed onto me before I could hit the bottom. Then she flew us both back up. When we got back up top, Mom gave me a hug.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, then turned to Sarah. "Thanks for saving me."

"Don't mention it," she replied. "But how did you fall down there?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

"Well, well, well. I knew you couldn't resist saving him," a girls voice said from behind us. We turned around and saw Danielle, Sarah's evil clone. "You're so predictable."

"What if I didn't save him?" Sarah asked.

She shrugged. "Oops."

That made Sarah grit her teeth. "What are you doing here? And where's the rest of your family?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out. But I'm only here to mess with you this time. Not fight. But we will fight soon with some other friends of mine."

"Great. Can't wait to meet them," Sarah muttered.

"You already have," Danielle said. "You and the Saturdays."

Raylee narrowed her eyes. "We have? Who are they?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Oh, and you may have already figured this out, but just in case you haven't, I was the one that threw that fireball at you guys while you were riding that tree. I've gotta admit, that looked pretty fun."

"If you're not here to fight, then could you just leave already?" Sarah said.

She sighed. "Fine. I'll see you in Paris soon."

"Paris?" Raylee asked, sounding a little uneasy. "Which Paris, exactly?"

Before she answered, she activated her powers and she was gone.

"Why did you sound . . . scared when she said Paris?" Zack asked his mom.

She looked sad, like she was having a bad memory. Pikachu and the animals seemed to understand. They rubbed up against her, giving her comfort.

"I can't talk about it," Raylee replied, her voice sounding about ready to break.

They didn't ask her anymore questions.

* * *

We all headed back to the camp and Harger and his men went to catch up with Ruby. The rest of us, well, were moving on.

"So, I guess I'll see you around," Doyle said.

"You're going after Abbey already?" I asked.

"No. I just need time to clear my head. I feel a little messed up now, you know? Hey, I'll be in touch."

He began walking away, but I stopped him.

"What? No. You can't keep running away, Doyle," I said. "What Abbey did, messed us all up, but you don't have to deal with it alone."

"Zak, there's nothing wrong with always running away when someone or something turns bad and wanting to cope with it alone," Raylee said.

"You're not helping."

"I'm not trying to."

I just ignored her and focused back on Doyle. "You're part of a family now. A family who—we . . . come on. I don't wanna say it, and I know you don't want me to say it."

"We love you," Mom finished for me.

"I wasn't gonna say it either," Dad whispered to me.

Raylee laughed.

Doyle sighed. "Alright then, family. We're still gonna get payback on babysitter girl, right?"

"Oh, yeah," I agreed.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

We headed back to the Saturday's home.

I've been debating with myself on whether or not I should talk to Zak and try to patch things up between us all day, and I've decided that I will. So, after we had gotten back, I went to go talk to him in his room, where he was getting ready for bed.

"Hey, Zak, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked.

"Umm, sure, Sarah," he replied. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Us."

"What about us?"

"Well, my mom and my twin brother told me that I should talk to you about what happened between us, and I'm gonna do just that. So, can you tell me what happened that day between you and Wadi?"

"Do you just wanna know because your family told you to, or because you want to?"

"I want to know."

"Why?"

"Because I miss you," I admitted. "A lot. Probably even more than I realize."

Zak sighed. "I miss you, too."

I found that a little hard to believe, given the past couple days, but my powers told me that he wasn't lying, and they never lie.

"Ok," I said. "So what happened?"

He told me everything. How my twin brother had accidentally pushed him into Wadi and that he somehow caught her lips and also how guilty he felt when I saw. Now I'm the one who feels guilty.

"I believe you," I said.

"You do?" Zak asked.

I nodded. "Yes."

"So you forgive me?"

"Actually, I don't think you should be sorry. It wasn't your fault. It was mine because I was the one who was overreacting, so I shouldn't be the forgiver, but the forgivee."

"It was both our faults," Zak said.

"How is it your fault?" I asked.

"It's my fault because I didn't fight for you and I should've. And I promise I won't let that happen again."

I smiled. "That's so sweet. So you forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me."

In response, I leaned over and kissed him. "Does that answer your question?"

Zak smiled. "Yes." He kissed me.

God, I've missed him kissing me, but mostly, I've missed him.

Then we heard someone giggling. We pulled away from each other and tried to find where that sound came from.

"Sarah," Zak said, gesturing to the door.

I looked at it and saw the little girl we've seen many times before who doesn't really say much, if anything, and appears and disappears whenever. She looked exactly the same, wearing the same clothes again.

"Hi," I told her.

"Whatcha doing?" Zak asked her.

She just smiled at us.

"She is so cute," I said.

"About as cute as you," Zak said.

"I'd say cuter."

"Maybe."

The little girl laughed.

"Her laugh is also cute," Zak noted.

"I know," I agreed. "Cute as a button."

"Buttons aren't that cute. If at all."

"I know. I don't know why that's a saying, because it's not really true."

She smiled at us one last time, waved, and ran out of the door.

"I'm not going to bother running after her again," I said. "I know that I won't find her, because she always disappears."

"And appears out of no where," Zak agreed. "I think she's a ghost."

"I'm beginning to think that too. But, then, how come only you and I can see her and no one else, and why?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

"I wish I did."

"I do too."

"So, changing the subject, you won't admit that you like Wadi, but you'll admit you like Abbey?" I asked.

"Can we not talk about that, please?" Zak said.

"Ok."

"But can we talk about how you and your family seemed suspicious of Abbey from the beginning? Did you know that she was secretly working for Van Rook?"

I shook my head. "No. That was a complete surprise. When I first met her, my powers told me not to trust her, and they never lie. And the same with my mom and my twin brother. That's why we acted so suspicious of her."

"And you couldn't have told us that?"

"Would you have believed us if we did?"

"Probably not," he admitted.

"And that's why we didn't tell you."

"Fair point."

"Yes. And for the record, if you were the same age as Doyle, I bet you would've won her instead of him."

"You really think so?"

I nodded. "Of course. You're more sweeter and nicer then he us. Plus, you're way more attractive."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not. I mean it. You're a really great guy, Zak. Anybody would be lucky to have you."

"Like you?"

"Yes."

Zak snorted. "I'd say I'm more lucky to have you than you have me."

"Oh, I beg to differ," I protested.

We both laughed.

"But my mom is right," I said, remembering what she said earlier. "A relationship isn't a competition. It's not to show off that you have the most prettiest girl, or the most handsomest boy. It's not about anyone else but the two of you. A relationship is based on how much you love and care for the person that you're with and that person feeling the same way."

Zak nodded in agreement. "Like a family."

I nodded. "Exactly."

"Can I say that you are the most beautifullest girl I've ever met?"

"As long as you don't show me off like some asshole, then yes."

We laughed again.

"And speaking of my mom," I said. "On my way to your room, I was walking by the living room and I noticed her and she had Emily with her, feeding her with a bottle, and she was talking to Doyle."

"She was?" Zak asked.

"I know, right? And they were having a nice conversation. I find it kind of weird how she and your dad are now getting along with him since they both hated him so much when they met him. But I'll get use to it eventually, I guess."

"I know."

I know it was getting late, and I felt tired. Too tired to walk back to my room.

"Umm, is it ok if I stay in here with you tonight?" I asked.

"Sure," Zak replied. "We can share the bed together if you want."

"Ok."

We both climbed into his bed and snuggled up next to each other. Even kissing a few times, but eventually went to sleep.

I was so happy that we were back together, and I could tell Zak was happy too.

* * *

 **Sarah and Zak are back together. Yay. I think they're really cute, and the next chapter is going to be even cuter.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	32. Sarah's Dream

**Zak's POV**

I woke up the next morning and found that Sarah was not in my bed. She was probably getting some breakfast, so I got up, got dressed, and headed to the kitchen. Zack was the only one in there.

"Hey, Zak," he said. "You looking for Sarah?"

"Uh . . . yeah," I replied. "How'd you know?"

"You're kidding, right? She's my sister, my twin sister, and your, now, back together girlfriend. It's beyond obvious that you're looking for her."

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess it kind of is. So where is she?"

"She just left here a couple minutes ago. She said that she was going to go get some fresh air, so I assume she went outside."

"Ok. Thanks, Zack."

"Anytime, Dude."

I headed outside.

* * *

I looked around the whole perimeter of my house, but I didn't spot Sarah anywhere. I decided to go into the woods. Maybe she was in there somewhere.

A few long minutes later, I heard a sound in the distance. It got louder and louder the more farther I went into the woods. When I finally reached where the sound was coming from, I found Sarah. Her back was to me. She was sitting at an instrument—a piano, I believe—and she was playing it and singing:

I've always been the kind of girl  
That hid my face  
So afraid to tell the world  
What I've got to say  
But I have this dream  
Right inside of me  
I'm gonna let it show  
It's time to let you know

This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let the light shine on me  
Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me, yeah  
Yeah.

Do you know what it's like  
To feel so in the dark  
To dream about a life  
Where you're the shining star  
Even though it seems  
Like it's too far away  
I have to believe in myself  
It's the only way

This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let the light shine on me  
Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me

You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you  
You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you

This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let the light shine on me, yeah  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me  
This is me

Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me

When Sarah was done singing the song, I called out to her. "Sarah!"

Bad idea. She screamed and threw a fireball at me. It hit the tree right next to me, setting it on fire.

"Oh, shit," Sarah cursed.

She summoned water to her hands and put the fire out.

Then she glared at me. "Zak, what the hell do you think you're doing, sneaking up on me like that? That's practically suicide."

"I can see that," I replied, gesturing to the tree.

"Shut up."

"What are you doing out here?" I asked, approaching her.

She shifted her feet uncomfortably. "Oh, umm, nothing."

"Nothing as in playing the piano and singing?"

"Umm, maybe."

"How did a piano even get here?"

"Uh, I teleported it here from my house."

"Oh. Why?"

"To play it. Why else?"

"Oh, right. Why are you acting so weird?"

Sarah shifted uncomfortably again. "Umm, I don't like people hearing me sing."

"Why?" I asked. "You have a great voice."

She blushed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." I kissed her on the cheek. "But why don't you like anyone hearing you sing? Stage fright?"

She nodded. She walked back to the piano and sat on the bench in front of it. I sat down next to her.

"I really love to sing," Sarah said. "I've even written a couple songs."

"Like the song you were singing just now?" I asked.

She nodded. "I want to become a professional singer some day and have a recording deal. It's my dream. When I was six years old, I entered a beauty pageant for young girls. My talent was singing a song that my mom use to sing to me when I was a baby on the piano that I learned how to play when I was five. And I won. I even still have the sash. Everybody told me how beautiful my voice was, and that's when I knew that I wanted to become a singer. If that audience loved my voice and felt happy when I sing, then I want to make a lot of other people happy too."

"Hearing you sing a few minutes ago made me feel happy," I said.

She smiled. "You're so sweet." Her smile disappeared. "As I got older, I began to learn how to write songs and make new music for those songs, but I also became more sensitive. And, eventually, I stopped singing in front of anybody except my mom, my twin brother, and my best friend."

"How come?"

"Well, I would watch singing competitions on TV sometimes and the judges would say some really mean things to the people who audition and have terrible voices. It was so embarrassing. I don't wanna risk being a victim of that. I mean, yeah, people do say I have a nice voice, but eventually, someone's gonna tell me that I have a terrible voice and that I should stop singing for the rest of my life."

"Sarah, the only people that are going to say that are people that are jealous that you have a beautiful voice and they don't."

She smiled again. "Maybe. But I still don't want to take any risks."

"Life's all about taking risks, Sarah," I said. "And sometimes, taking a risk is worth it."

"My mom told me the same thing."

"What else did she tell you?"

"That she knows a good singer when she hears one, and that I have a good voice, and that she's not just saying that because I'm her daughter, but because it's true."

"And it is."

Sarah pressed a few keys on her piano. "I'm too afraid to in front of anybody, Zak. Even if everybody does like my voice, I wouldn't be able to let them hear it."

"Well, then, we'll just have to fix that," I said.

"We?"

"Yes, we. I'm going to help you."

"Why?"

"Because I'm your boyfriend, and that's what boyfriends do for their girlfriends. At least, that's what I think they should do."

Sarah laughed and kissed me. "Ok. Let's do it."

"Alright then. Try singing that again that you played a few minutes ago."

She did as I told her and played the music, but she wasn't singing. I noticed her mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out.

I stopped her. "Sarah, what's wrong?"

"Sorry," she said. "That's kind of a habit when I'm around someone. I get it from my mom. She does it too."

"Why?"

"Well, I may have a good voice, but she doesn't. She always listens to music loud enough to where you can't hear her singing along. She says she has more of a chance at becoming an actress than a singer, but not by much."

"And she would always sing to you when you were a baby?"

"Yeah."

"That must've hurt to hear."

"Actually, it wasn't. You see, the song is about comfort, and in order to feel comfortable, you have to have a comforting voice. So my mom would use her powers to change her voice when she would sing to me, and then change it back when she's done."

"That sounds like cheating."

"It is, but if you hear her sing in her regular voice, you'd want her to use her powers to change it."

"She sounds that bad when she sings?"

"Yeah. I don't know how to describe what it sounds like, but it's not good. I've heard worse, though."

"Ok," I said. "Let's try that song again."

"Zak, I don't know if I can for you," Sarah said. "I'm too scared about what you'll say."

"Sarah, I'm your boyfriend, and I know you can do this. Please try. For me."

She sighed. She played the piano, but she still wouldn't sing. She did that a few more times before I came up with an idea for her.

"Ok, I have an idea," I said.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Can you play with your eyes closed?"

"In my sleep."

"Ok. How about you do that and see how well that works? Just close your eyes, play the piano and sing. Just focus on the song. Forget that I'm here and imagine that you're all alone. Maybe somewhere that you feel happy and like to be. Hopefully, that'll work, ok?"

She nodded. "Ok. I'll try."

She placed her fingers on the keys, closed her eyes, and played.

I was really impressed by how well she can play whether or not her eyes were open. Then again, she does have powers and they could be guiding her. But the best thing of all, she was singing this time. Strong and proud, like she'd been singing her whole life, which she probably has.

When she finished singing, she opened her eyes, and she had a big smile on her face. "Wow. I can't believe that worked."

"I have good ideas sometimes," I said.

"Yeah. Sometimes." She gave me a kiss. "As well as that worked, Zak, it's still going to take a while for me to get over my stage fright. I can't keep my eyes closed through a whole song. I would have to open them every once in a while, and I don't think I can do that just yet."

"Yet," I repeated. "You'll get the hang of it."

"I really appreciate you helping me try to get my dream to come true."

"Hey, that's what boyfriends are for, right?"

Sarah laughed. "Right."

She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"How long have you been sneaking out here to play your piano?" I asked.

"Almost as long as I've known you," she replied. "I like to play at least once a day."

"Why out here?"

"Because it's quiet and I love being surrounded by nature."

"Ok. That makes sense. But that song, it sounds like you're saying what you want to become someday."

"That's because I am. Every song I write has a story behind it. And that song explains who I really am. I even wrote a couple songs about you."

"Oh, really? Can I hear them?"

"Maybe later. I still don't feel ready to sing in front of you with my eyes open and not feel self-conscious yet."

"Ok. I can wait."

"Sure you can."

"I can!"

Sarah laughed. "Ok. You can."

We stood up from the bench, and Sarah sent her piano back home.

"I'll beat you back to your house," she told me.

"I doubt—"

She used her super speed and ran off before I could finish my sentence.

"Cheater!" I called after her.

I could hear her laughing. I laughed and ran after her.

* * *

 **Aww. Short but cute.**

 **Quiz Time!**

 _What is the name of the song that Sarah sang, and who sings it?_

 **I'll reveal the answer at the end of the next chapter.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	33. The Atlas Pin

**Zak's POV**

Mom was trying to help Fiskerton with his Lemurian heritage by meditating and Sarah, Zack, and I were doing it with him.

"Find yourself, Fiskerton," Mom told him. "You're a Lemurian, a Kur Guardian. Some part of you knows how to find Kur. We're going to unlock that part. Now, follow me. Oooom."

He tried it, but laughed.

I slapped his arm. "Just try it, ok? Ooooom."

He tried it, but it didn't go so well. He ended up setting the room we were in on fire a little bit and Sarah and Zack were the only ones who laughed about it. Mom put out the fire from the fountain that was in there.

"Ok, ok, so it'll take time," I said. "But I know you can do this, Fisk. One more try?"

Fisk tried again, but we had to stop when the room suddenly began to shake. We headed to the control room where the rest of our families were.

"Earthquake?" Mom asked.

Dad nodded. "Just trying to pick what with the epicenter. Whoa."

"Holy shit," Raylee exclaimed.

On the screen was a three-dimensional globe, and there were spots all over it, marking the places where an earthquake just happened.

"The whole planet shook?" I asked.

"At once?" Doyle asked. "How is that possible?"

"I . . . don't know," Dad said, sounding baffled.

We heard a sound come from the ceiling. We looked up and noticed a king cobra fall into the room, landing a few feet away from us.

"Saturdays," it greeted.

Now, I'm used to hearing animals speak because Shillow and the cheetahs can, but there's a reason for that. How this snake was talking? I didn't know how.

But I did recognize its voice.

"Wait. That voice," I said. "That's—"

"The serpent lady we fought in Shangri-La," Doyle finished. "We knew that she controlled snakes, but that's just kinda freaky."

"You have no idea the extent of my power," she said. "The jolt the world just felt was from my merrily striking the Atlas Pin."

I didn't know what that was, but my parents seemed to know.

"If you do not do as I say, I will tear the pin completely out," the serpent lady continued.

"That's insane," Dad said. "You'd destroy the planet."

"V.V. Argost stole a relic prized by my race. The coward fled to the skies before I could recover it. But you, you have fought him before, so now you will get my prize back or I pull the Atlas Pin."

"Mom? Dad?" I said. "I feel like I should be scared, but I have no idea why."

"According to legend, Ancient Greek and Atlantian scientists spotted a flaw in the earth's surface," Mom explained. "A gap where two tectonic plates meet underwater. Left unchecked, the gap would generate earthquakes so massive, continents would literally be ripped apart."

"As a solution, the scientists drove a rock wedged into the gap," Dad added. "A pin, to hold the earth in place, like the Titan Atlas."

"This one rock keeps the whole planet together," Mom continued. "If she's found it, we'll have to do what she says."

"What, so we're just going to surrender to snake lady based on some ancient legend?" Doyle asked in disbelief.

"Or, you can base it on this," the snake lady said.

Our house began to shake again, much larger than the last one, and everything in the room was tearing to pieces. Raylee had to summon a force field around us to keep all the stuff that was breaking from falling on us.

"Wait. We don't even know what this relic is," I said.

"Actually, I think I do," Doyle said. "She used it on Fisk when Argost had him kidnapped. It's suppose to glow when you bring it near Kur."

"Argost must be using this relic to track down Kur," Dad said. "Which means we've got bad news on two fronts."

"We should split up," Mom suggested.

"Agreed. I'll take Doyle, Fisk, Zon, and Raylee to track down Argost and get the relic."

"Zak, Komodo, Sarah, and Zack, you're with me. We're gonna find and neutralize the Atlas Pin before this serpent woman or anyone else gets a chance to use it. Any questions?"

"Does nobody care that there's a king cobra running around our house?" I asked.

"Uh, no, because the whole planet is in jeopardy along with your house," Sarah said, a little harsh.

Then Komodo came into the room and I noticed the tip of the cobra's tail in his mouth before he swallowed it.

"Never mind," I said.

I forgot reptiles tend to eat their own kind sometimes.

"Well, this isn't the first time I've dealt with an idiot doing something suicidal that'll kill a lot of people along with himself," Raylee said. "But I've never heard of a pin named after Atlas until now. But, I guess it does make sense since it holds the ground together and he holds up the sky."

"You know Greek mythology?" Mom asked her.

"A little bit. I don't know that much, but I do know that."

"Then let's go," Dad said.

And off we went with our two groups.

* * *

Mom, Komodo, Sarah, Zack, and I put on wet suits, got into our Saturday Sub, and went underwater. We were on the intercom with Dad, Fiskerton, Doyle, Raylee, and the animals.

"No trace of Argost at Weird World," Dad said. "If he's using the relic to search for Kur, he could be anywhere."

"Found him," I said, looking at the screen in front of me.

"What? How?"

"He's a celebrity, Dad. People blog about seeing guys like that. Argost's war plane has been spotted all over the world. Looks like he's crisscrossing the globe on a kind of search grid."

"That's great, Zak. Now I can plot an intercept course—"

"Already uploaded to the airship's mainframe. Good luck."

I ended the call.

"Well, I see someone's becoming quite the young scientist," Sarah noted.

I blushed. "Thanks. But that was all my genius ideas. Now, how do we find the Atlas Pin?"

"The same way you find anything else underwater," Mom said. "We ask the experts."

And the experts were the Kumari.

We swam near Kumari Kandam and I noticed Ulraj waving to us.

We stopped out sub and swam into the city.

* * *

We were in the throne room, explaining to Ulraj about the Pin.

"The Atlas Pin," he said. "I hoped it would never be found during my reign. And you truly believe Argost is mad enough to pull it out?"

"Actually, this one isn't Argost," I said. "There's this new evil serpent lady who controls snakes and she—"

"You have found a naga?" Ulraj asked, shaking out of his wits like he was scared. "But there were none left. I thought . . . I have to warn my people."

"Whoa, whoa, Ulraj," I said. "We've already beaten her once. What's the big deal about one creepy snake controlling—"

The city suddenly shook. Then the city serpent began attacking us. The Kumari began to fire their blasters at it.

"I guess naga knows we're after her," I said.

"She's good," Sarah said.

"Stunning blasts only," Ulraj told his men. "This is still our city serpent."

We ran to cover ourselves from the debris.

"To have that level of control over a serpent this big . . ." Mom said, faltering.

"This is nothing," Ulraj said. "The naga would scourge of the ancient world. Their dark mysticism corrupted everything they touch. We thought they were all destroyed, but—"

"Dark mysticism? Zak, we have to make a call."

"Now?" I asked.

She grabbed my arm and pushed me forward. I conceded and we ran. Sarah and Zack followed.

We went to our sub and Mom made a call to the rest of our family.

"Doc, we need to talk," she said.

"Now?" he asked. "I'm kind of in the middle of something."

Mom showed him some photoage of the city serpent.

"Ok, yours wins."

"The nagas were evil mystics," Mom explained. "Whatever their Kur finding device is, it's full of dark magic. No matter what happens on our end, you have to destroy that relic."

"Even better idea," Doyle said. "We take the relic and use it to find Kur ourselves. Shut 'em down with their own tech. It's like poetry."

"No. No, Doyle. Dark magic will twist anything it touches, and anyone. Trust me, these are forces you do _not_ want to mess with."

"We don't need a relic, we've got Fisk," I said. "His Lemurian instincts are gonna find Kur for us."

He seemed to disagree.

"I'd have to agree with Doyle," Dad said. "If we have any chance to find Kur before Argost, I'm willing to risk dark magic."

I didn't like this.

"What about you guys?" I asked Sarah and Zack.

"Umm, I don't mind either way," Sarah said. "But I think it's best to leave this decision to you and your family."

Zack nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

"Same here," Raylee agreed. "I don't care which one you guys choose."

"Well, then it sounds like it's two to two," Mom said. "That makes it your call, Fiskerton."

He seemed unsure, but gave an answer.

"Keep the relic?" I asked in disbelief. "Fisk, you can do this."

He was so confused.

"Yay for democracy," Doyle said.

"I hate politics," Raylee said.

"'Scuse us. Got business."

And Doyle ended the call.

"Doyle," I said frustratingly.

Then suddenly, a dark force appeared above our sub. It was the city serpent, and the dark force was his mouth. He closed his jaw with our sub inside then spit us out. We crashed into a reef.

"We're stuck," Mom said. "You guys go help Ulraj. I'll see what I can do here."

And that we did.

I tried to control the serpent with my powers, but they weren't connecting. We met back up with Ulraj, and he and Komodo had just saved one of his men from getting crushed by a boulder.

"Nice save," I told them.

"Where have you been?" he asked us. "You should be calming the serpent with your powers like you've done before."

"You don't think I've tried?" I said. "I can't get a lock on it. Last time, Zon kept me in its face. But the way it's thrashing and biting everything . . ." Then an idea hit me. "Wait. Ok, Mom, whatever happens next, don't freak out."

"What are you planning?" Sarah asked me.

"Just watch." I swam toward the serpent.

"Wait, what?" Mom asked me through the intercom.

"Hey, remember me?" I called up to the serpent.

He noticed me.

"I'm back!"

He slammed his open mouth down on me.

Perfect. I grabbed a tight hold on to his tooth.

"Zak!" Mom called.

The serpent lifted his head and I noticed the sub coming our way.

"Zak! Zak, can you hear me?"

"I told you not to freak out!" I said.

The serpent was hitting things with his head and I could barely hold on. He knew I was in his mouth, because he used his tongue to hit me a couple times.

"Hey, come on," I said frustratingly.

He hit me again and I punched his tongue away. Then he breathed out a strong breath of air and blew me out of his mouth.

I had the claw in my hand and slingshot it onto his nose, pulling myself onto it, and I activated my powers. He screamed in pain and fell to the bottom of the ocean. I jumped off him before I fell with him. Then I, along with my mom, Sarah, Zack, Komodo, and Ulraj noticed the naga and she was swimming away.

"That's her!" I said. "We have to catch her before she gets back to the Atlas Pin."

Mom brought the sub near us and we all climbed in. All except Ulraj, because Mom closed the hatch before he could get in.

"What?" he asked.

"Sorry, Your Majesty," she said. "But your city needs you more than we do."

He clearly didn't like it, but knew she was right. And off we went.

Mom gave me the controls while she and Komodo climbed into the torpedo shoots. We were far behind the naga.

"Mom, she's getting away!" I said.

"Not if this works, she's not," she replied. "Fire 1 and 2."

I did as she told me.

She and Komodo shot out so fast that they caught up to the naga, grabbed her arms and held her down. The three of us exited out of the sub. When we reached them, the naga looked nothing like the one we fought, its scales being black instead of yellow.

"That's not her," I said. "That's . . . a serpent guy? There's another one?"

"Rani Nagi," he said. "Rani Nagi!"

"Oh, this isn't good," Sarah said.

She was right.

More nagas appeared.

Mom and Komodo let the one they were holding down go, and we moved near the pin.

"Stay close," Mom said.

The nagas formed a kind of line and the serpent woman moved between them, coming toward us, and they all bowed as she passed.

"Rani Nagi?" Mom said, realizing something. "That's—that's Hindi, Queen of the Nagas."

"Arrogant ape creatures," she said once she reached us. "You think you're smarter than a queen? Now see the price of your betrayal as your surface world dies. Pull the Atlas Pin!"

The other nagas did as she commanded them. The Atlas Pin was coming out of the ground and everything around us started shaking.

"Zak, this has to be stopped," Mom said, unsheathing her fire sword. "No matter what."

We tried to stop the Pin from continuing to rise out of the ground, but the nagas kept getting in our way. Sarah, Zack, and I attacked Rani Nagi, but she was better at fighting underwater than we were.

We were outnumbered and they had us surrounded.

"You fight well, and you have earned the queen's mercy," Rani Nagi said. "I will not make you live to see your world torn apart."

They advanced on us.

"Dig deep, guys," Mom said. "This is for the whole earth."

"In coming," Sarah sad.

I didn't know what she meant until the ground below us opened up and the city serpent, with Ulraj on top of its head, came out with the whole kingdom of Kumari Kandam on its back. It swam toward the Atlas Pin and broke the chains on it, sinking it back into the ground and the shaking stopped.

We cheered in triumph. Kumari Kandam began attacking the nagas and they retreated.

I looked at Ulraj and he was practically gloating.

"I saved your city first," I said.

"I saved your whole world," he retorted.

"We'll call it even."

"What?! No we won't. I saved your world."

"Which you wouldn't have been able to do if I hadn't saved you first."

Sarah laughed. "Zak's right there."

Ulraj wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"Well that—well, that's hardly the point," he argued, though he also knew we were right. "I drove a serpent. A giant serpent."

"Just shut up already, Ulraj," Sarah said.

He listened to her and stopped.

* * *

The five of us were in our sub, talking on our video phone with the rest of our family, and Fiskerton was explaining to us how he got Rani Nagi's Kur relic back from Argost.

"Way to go, Fisk," I said. "Check out those Lemurian instincts coming through. I knew you could do it. Next stop, Kur."

"And the serpent woman?" Dad asked.

"Escaped," Mom said. "But I doubt they've given up completely."

"They?"

"Let's just enjoy the win."

Yeah, not exactly the best time to tell him that there's more of them.

"Hey, Fur ball, what are you doing?" Doyle asked Fiskerton.

He had just put the relic down the trash shoot and pressed the execute button.

"What did you just do?" Doyle asked him, sounding mad.

"I think he just changed his vote," I said. "Come on, Fisk. Show him how you're gonna find Kur."

He adjusted himself into a meditating position.

"He'll get it. Eventually. Just trust him, ok?"

Doyle still looked unconvinced. He sighed. "Looks like we're gonna have to."

"Oh, don't worry, Doyle," Raylee said. "We'll be fine."

"Hopefully," Sarah said.

Doyle didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do about it.

I know Fisk is gonna help us find Kur for us, I have no doubt about it, and I'm going to help him with his Lemuria if it's the last thing I do.

* * *

 **I think this was an ok chapter. The next one will be better, with a lot more drama, both good and bad.**

 **Nagisa101 guessed my quiz yesterday right. The answer was in fact** _This is Me, by Demi Lovato_ **. Good job. I'll have a link to where you can listen to it on my wiki.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	34. Paris is Melting

**Zak's POV**

I hate bedtime.

Every night, Fiskerton grabs my stuffed unicorn, wraps it up in a blanket like a baby, and gives it to me to hold.

"No matter how many times you do this, it's still not funny," I told him.

He and Sarah laughed.

That's the only best thing about going to bed now. Sarah's been allowed to sleep next to me ever since we got back together as long as we be responsible and actually sleep. (I still have no idea what else we would be doing besides sleeping, but Sarah does and she won't tell me. But whatever it was, it seemed to scare her.)

"If you want, Zak, I can take the unicorn for myself," Sarah said. "I don't think I have one."

"You like stuffed animals?" I asked.

"I collect them. In my room at home, I have shelves on every wall and they have different kinds of stuffed animals on them."

"Do you play with them?"

"I used to, until my parents played a prank on me with them last year and I've been afraid of them ever since. But I still play with them with my baby sister."

"Ok."

Fiskerton picked up a book, a baby book, and began to read it to me. I was trying to ignore him as much as I could, but it was hard not to and to not do something about it.

"Uh, Fiskerton?" my mom asked.

She and Dad were standing in the doorway.

Fiskerton got scared, so he gave me the book, ruffled my hair, then jumped out the window, knocking Sarah off the bed in the process.

"Fiskerton!" she yelled frustratingly and got back on the bed.

I threw the book down on the floor. "How is this fair? I'm allowed to fight the world's most evil villain, but I can't stay up past 9:30?"

"Who said your _allowed_ to fight the world's most evil villains?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, you pretty much just force your way into fighting them," Sarah agreed.

I ignored that. "And Fisk? How come he gets to do whatever he wants all night?"

"You know why, Zak," Dad said. "Fiskerton is still a cryptid. There will always be apart of him that stays cat-like, nocturnal, and we just have to let him have his night time prowl."

"I still don't think it's fair."

My parents said their goodnights and left the room. Sarah and I snuggled up to each other and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, we woke up to a humming sound. We looked outside the window and noticed Dr. Beeman's UFO aircraft hovering outside.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Sarah asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know. But let's go find out."

We got dressed quickly then went to meet Dr. Beeman down in the room where we keep our airship and both of our families were there as well.

Beeman's aircraft pulled in and he and Dr. Grey exited out of it.

"Miranda," Mom said, sounding surprised to see her. "I, uh, thought you'd taken a break from the Secret Scientists after, you know, Abbey, I mean, when she—"

"My sister works for Van Rook," she finished for her. "You can say it."

"Abbey's Miranda's sister?" Sarah whispered to me.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"I don't see the resemblance."

I chuckled. "Neither do I."

"Believe me, I'd rather be elsewhere," Miranda continued. "But I take threats to my safety very seriously."

"Don't we all?" Raylee said.

"Wait. What are you talking about?" Mom asked.

"Dr. Beeman, what's—" Dad started.

"Dr. Cheechoo, Dr. Lawhorn. Dr. Grimes, what's the connection?" Dr. Beeman interrupted. He looked at me. "Bed head, question to you."

"What?" I asked. "Uh, they're all Secret Scientists?"

He gave me a look that practically told me that I was stupid. "In full body casts, drinking O-positive milkshakes through an IV."

He showed me a picture of Dr. Cheechoo clearly bedridden.

"Nasty," I said.

"Who the hell takes a picture of that kind of stuff?" Raylee asked. "It's just disturbing."

"Yeah," Zack agreed.

"Over the past three nights, three Secret Scientists labs were attacked," Miranda said. "We're being targeted."

"Do we have any kind of lead?" Dad asked. "A description of the attacker, maybe?"

"I'm afraid we have more than that, Dr. Saturday," a voice said.

I recognized it and didn't like it at all.

"Agent Epsilon?" Mom said.

"Francis," I said through gritted teeth.

They, and their people as well, had came out of Beeman's aircraft.

Sarah laughed for some reason. "That's bound to wake you up."

"Dr. Cheechoo's security cameras photographed the latest attack," Epsilon said. He had an electronic device in his hands. "Poor image quality, but I'm sure you'll recognize the perpetrator."

He showed the screen to us and the attacker was spinning Dr. Cheechoo in the air. But, the scary thing was, I did recognize the attacker.

"Fisk?" I asked in disbelief. "No. No way. That's not him."

"Ah. Looks like Fuzzy Wuzzy's got on un-fuzzy side," Beeman said.

"Oh, would you just shut up already?" Sarah growled at him.

It's like she hates him more and more every time he opens his mouth, which she probably does.

Then Fiskerton entered the room.

"Take him," Epsilon told his people.

They did as they were told and walked up to him, but I stopped them.

"Hey, leave him alone," I said, and pushed them away.

Then me and my family stood in front of Fisk, guarding him from them, and having a little standoff with Epsilon and his people.

"Epsilon, please remind your people whose house this is," Mom said. "Unless you want to have a few less of them."

Raylee chuckled. "That would be good."

Epsilon, Francis, and their people advanced on us.

"Calm down, all of you," Miranda said, coming between us. "No one wants a fight."

"I do," Sarah said, raising her hand.

"Yeah," Zack agreed.

We ignored them.

"You all know Fiskerton," Mom said. "He's as vicious as a marshmallow."

He was offended by that comment.

"Lawhorn, Grimes, Cheechoo," Miranda said. "The three scientists who just happen to live closest to this home? Tell me there's another explanation."

"Ok, I'm telling you the big gorilla didn't do it," Doyle said.

"That creature is a threat to everyone associated with your Secret Scientists," Epsilon said. "Sadly, myself included."

"Well, what a pity it is for you," Sarah said sarcastically.

"I make it a policy to neutralize threats before they neutralize me."

I had an idea to get away from here. I signaled Komodo toward the griffin, and he seemed happy to oblige, then turned himself invisible.

Sarah and Zack noticed.

"What's the plan?" they whispered to me.

I told them. They nodded.

"Ok, but where are we going to go?" Sarah asked.

"We?" I asked.

"Well, you don't think we're not going to help, do you?"

"Well, no. But there's not enough room for all of us to fit in the griffin. Besides, I think it's best that at least one of you stays and help both our families keep the Secret Scientists occupied."

"I'll stay," Zack offered. "You guys go."

"Uh, no," I said. "I think Sarah should stay instead."

"Why?" they both asked.

I hesitated. "Because she doesn't like them more and can probably make sure that they stay away from us. I mean, not that you can't, Zack. It's just—"

He held up his hand to stop me. "I get it. But I'm pretty sure both our families can handle them without either of us."

"Probably, but it's best that Sarah makes sure."

She sighed. "Fine. Go."

We waited for Komodo.

My parents were still arguing with the Secret Scientists.

"Well, I'm afraid I don't much care about your policies, Epsilon," Dad said. "If our friends are being attacked, we want to help catch whoever did it. But I promise, no one in my family is out to hurt anyone."

Suddenly, the griffin was turned on and took flight. There was enough smoke from it to cover everyone's eyes.

I grabbed onto Fiskerton's hand. "Fisk, come on. We're getting out of here."

Komodo landed the griffin about ten feet away. Fisk, Zack, and I ran to it and jumped in. I took the controls and we flew out of there. Zon flew behind us.

"I can't believe Komodo knows how to fly this thing," Zack said. "That's pretty cool."

I laughed. "Yeah, I taught him just for fun, but it ended up becoming useful for this situation."

"Yeah. Listen, Zak, you should know that it's never good to choose someone over your girlfriend unless that someone is, somewhat, related to you, and I'm not related to you, but to her, and that's bad."

"I know. But I just thought it was best for her to stay."

"That doesn't mean it is."

I didn't answer, and, instead, focused back on the situation. "Ok, Fisk, where did you go prowling the past three nights?"

He shrugged and shook his head.

"What? You get to stay out all night, and you can't even remember it? Ah, you're killing me, Fisk."

Then I heard a ringing sound.

"What's that?"

"It's not my phone," Zack said. "It sounds like it's coming from you, Fisk."

In response to that, Komodo investigated and grabbed the phone that was apparently tapped to him. He screamed in pain when Komodo pulled it off of him, then Komodo gave it to me.

"Now there's a phone?" I asked. "What did you do last night, Fisk?" I looked at the screen. "One received text message." I read it out loud. "'The answers are in Paris. The Louvre Museum. See you soon, Zak.'"

"Whoever sent that apparently knows you," Zack said.

I nodded.

Fiskerton was telling me he didn't send the text.

"I know you didn't, Fisk," I said. "And it's obvious we're being set up for something. But if it's the only way to clear your name, I guess we're going to Paris."

I turned the griffin in the direction of Paris and off we went.

* * *

After a while, we finally arrived there and the five of us headed inside the museum.

"Ok, nobody touches anything," I said.

Fiskerton asked me something.

"I don't know where we're going. Just keep your eyes open for—"

Fiskerton yelped.

"Fisk, what's—"

I looked ahead of us and saw a headless winged statue jump off its pedestal and attack us. Then four more statues, one for each of us, came to life as well.

Fiskerton asked me another question.

"No, I don't think they sent the text message," I replied.

Zack unsheathed his sword. "Well, I guess we fight back."

We charged at them. I hated to admit that we were losing to statues, but we were. Then we started to get sprayed with what I think, and kind of hoped, was ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, whatever. The walls were beginning to move.

"This whole place is going crazy," I said. "I've never seen anything like—" Then a realization hit me. "Oh, yes, I have. And I think I know whose phone that was."

"Whose was it?" Zack asked.

In response to his question, double doors about fifty feet away from us opened up and two people, actually a boy and a lizard, entered the room, and I recognized them.

"Oh," Zack said, recognizing them too. "That's who."

"The Mondays," I said, looking at mine and Komodo's double.

"And yours truly," a girl said, appearing from behind us.

"Danielle," Zack growled. "Where's Daniel? I mean, you two are kind of like me and Sarah."

"Turn around, Dude," Daniel said, appearing on the opposite side of Danielle. "And we are like you and Sarah."

"You got that right," Danielle agreed.

They surrounded us, got the upper hand, and tied us all up.

"This is impossible," I said. "We sent your family back to the shadow world. The Smoke Mirror. It was broken. There's no way you could've crossed back to our dimension."

"Not unless we helped them," Danielle said.

She had her arms around Zak Monday. They were acting like they were a better couple than me and Sarah.

"And did you?" Zack asked.

"We didn't need to," Danielle said. "Zak was clever enough to get himself out on his own."

"Why, thank you, Danielle," he said.

"You're welcome."

She gave him a kiss that lasted like half a minute, and I just wanted to gag.

"Obviously, the boy and I escaped," Komodo Monday said. "The others, not so lucky."

"You know the hardest part about saying goodbye to your family forever?" Zak Monday said. "Uh, nothing."

They both laughed.

"Wow. I think my mom feels the same way," Zack said. "Not about us, I mean, but her childhood family."

"As for the smoke mirror," Komodo Monday continued. "You simply must see the Louvre Museum's latest acquisition."

They grabbed us and pulled us out of the room.

* * *

They led us to the museum's main room and put us near a pedestal in the center of it, and I couldn't believe what was standing on it.

"The smoke mirror?" I said.

"When I heard it had been recovered and restored, a plan formed in my gigantic brain," Komodo Monday said. "Framing the furry creature was merrily phase one: a way to force you to come to us. Now we begin phase two: opening the gate way to our world to bring back our mighty airship."

"You've got an airship, like ours?" I asked.

"Yeah, umm, way better than yours," Zak Monday said.

"Ours is pure antimatter," Komodo Monday continued. "An entire flying fortress of it. Everywhere we fly, reality will tear apart. The whole world will be in chaos, and, best of all, you take the blame. No more Secret Sciencing. By the time we are through, the Saturdays will be the most wanted criminals on earth."

"But that doesn't make any sense," I said. "What do you even get out of that?"

"We get to ruin your lives," Zak Monday said. "Isn't that enough?"

"Ok, off you go," Komodo Monday said, pushing me toward the mirror.

"Hey, what are you—" I tried.

"What? You thought we were going back to that stink hole?" Zak Monday said. "No. You are."

"Forget it. I'm not going in there."

Fiskerton growled.

"Oh, what are you getting so noble about?" Komodo Monday said to him. "You're the one who's gonna make him do whatever we want."

I didn't know what they meant until Zak Monday activated his powers. Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon began to yell in pain.

"No!" I said.

He laughed.

"If you do what we ask, you at least have a chance to stop us," Komodo Monday told me. "Refuse, and your family's ruin starts now, as Zak sends your brothers to destroy all of Paris."

"Just stop it," I said. "Leave them alone! I'll do it. I'll get your airship."

Zak Monday laughed and deactivated his powers. "Man, you're predictable."

He untied most of the rope from around me While Daniel tied an extra long length of rope to it.

"Don't lose the tether line," Komodo Monday told me. "Trust me, you don't want to get stuck in our world."

"Zak, do not try to get stuck there," Zack said, saying what I hope are some words of encouragement. "For your family's and Sarah's sake."

I nodded.

"Good luck," Danielle said, obviously being sarcastic.

The mirror was activated, a small vortex appearing, and I jumped into it.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

This is bullshit.

While Zak, his pets, and my twin brother are going to who-knows-where to find out who's framing Fiskerton, the rest of us have to deal with the fucking Secret Scientists.

We went over the security cameras and noticed something peculiar about Fiskerton.

"I don't know what _you're_ looking for," Beeman said. "These eyes have spotted the UV signature of a braxius exploration vessel. They don't miss details."

"They may not, but you could," I said.

"They missed this," Doc agreed. "See that glow? It's coming from Fiskerton's eyes. He's being controlled."

"Maybe I noticed and didn't care," Beeman said.

I rolled my eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time."

"That's Zak Saturday's power," Francis noted. "He's making the creature do his dirty work. I admit, I'm impressed."

"No, no. Wrong color," Drew said. "This someone else's power. Someone who shouldn't even be in this dimension."

She looked at the rest of us, and we nodded in agreement.

They knew it was Zak's power, but we knew it wasn't, not technically anyway, because we've all seen it before.

We told the Secret Scientists who we thought it was, and while they were discussing between themselves whether they believed us or not, the rest of us went into a separate room to talk.

I don't think I've ever been so mad before than I am right now. My mom has told me to calm down, like, four times already and I'm still so pissed. She says I really am her daughter, because she's that way to people she really hates sometimes.

"This is ridiculous," I said. "We're wasting our time with these assholes."

"I agree," Doc said. "We need to go find our boys."

"But they won't let us go," Drew said.

"We can take them," Kimbia said.

"Yeah," Amber agreed. "Raylee has taught us to fight while also being outnumbered."

 _Yeah, and I can use my electricity, which really hurts people_ , Pikachu said.

"They're right," Mom said. "They can take care of them for us."

"Ok, but even if we do go looking for Zak and the others, how do we know where to look?" Doyle asked. "I mean, they could be anywhere."

None of us answered, because we really didn't know.

Then my phone rang. I grabbed it out of my back pocket and looked at the Caller ID.

"It's Selena," I said.

Instead of answering, I just declined her call, because this wasn't the time to talk. But about a minute later, she called again, and again. I sent her to voice mail, but she called back again.

I groaned in annoyance.

"Usually when someone calls over and over again, that means that there's an emergency," Mom said. "Or that person is so obsessed with you, because I once had a boyfriend like that. But Selena isn't like that, and you know it, Sarah."

I did.

Selena gave up calling for a moment to send me a text. It read: _ANSWER YOUR PHONE! IT'S AN EMERGENCY! I THINK ZACK'S IN TROUBLE!_

That got me to answer when she called me again half a minute later.

"Hello, Selena?" I said, sounding worried.

"Sarah, where are you?" she asked, her voice sounding ready to break.

"I'm with the Saturdays. What's wrong?"

"I think Zack's in trouble."

"Yeah, I read that in your text. Why do you think he's in trouble?"

"I called him five minutes ago, and he sounded like he was really hurt. He told me to call you and tell you that he and Zak are at the Louvre Museum in Paris."

"Paris? Why are they there?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me because he didn't have much time to talk. But I'm really worried about him."

"Me too. But, Selena, did he say anything else about Zak?"

"He was about to, but he got disconnected."

"Ok, well, thanks for telling me. We're going to go right now."

"Ok. Be careful, Sarah. And please call me when you, I guess, save them."

"I will. Bye."

I hung up my phone and put it back in my pocket. Then I told everyone what Selena had said.

"Out of all the damn places on earth, why the hell did it have to be Paris?" Mom asked out of frustration. "And even more, why at the Louvre Museum?"

"I'm guessing you've been there before?" I asked.

"Umm . . . once."

"What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

I sighed. "You always do that, Mom."

"Do what?"

"You always say crap like that but never explain anything about it. Can you please, for once, tell us what happened instead of keeping it to yourself?"

"She's right, Raylee," Amber said. "I know why you don't want to talk about it, but she's your daughter. And she wants to know everything about you. Even about the one person who made you happier and kept you alive more than anyone else."

Mom sighed. "I guess you're right." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I used to have a friend that meant a lot to me and I meant a lot to that friend as well. About sixty years ago, me and that friend went to—"

"Mom!" I interrupted. "Can you please stop saying 'that friend'? Because it's pretty obvious that 'that friend' was a man, and it's also pretty obvious that he was more than just your friend. Why won't you admit that? I mean, I know you've dated other men besides just Dad. You said so a few minutes ago when Selena was calling me. You don't have to tell me his name, but please admit it, because it's so annoying."

Mom sighed. "Sometimes I underestimate how smart you are."

"Yes, you do."

"Ok, well, that friend of mine was more than just my friend, but he was only my friend for the first ten years that we knew each other. Anyway, about sixty years ago, we went to Paris for our anniversary, and he got killed there."

"How?" I asked.

Mom as crying, remembering that day. "We were attacked by three men who hated him, and when they had badly injured him, they threw him right into the Louvre Museum and he died." Mom was really crying now. "I haven't been back to Paris since that day."

Hearing that made me really sad.

"Mom, you don't have to come if it's too painful for you," I told her.

"Yes, I do," she said. "My son is there, and, based on what Selena said, I have to see that he's ok and is still alive."

"So do I. So let's go."

We all nodded in agreement and left the room to deal with the damn Secret Scientists.

"A moment, Saturdays," Epsilon said. "The rules of our encounter have not changed."

"Oh, cram it, Epsilon," Drew told him. "You saw the same photoage we did. Our sons are innocent and they're in trouble. Now move it, or I move it for you."

I really like her.

"Dr. Beeman, you're the expert," Epsilon said. "Alternate shadow dimensions?"

"Ah, they've been theorized," he said. "But evil clones are right up there with 'I got hypnotized on the bad SYFY excuse chart'. Tough call."

I hate him.

"Ok, I'm cancelling debate club," Doyle said, then grabbed one of Epsilon's people and threw him aside.

I like him too.

The animals took it from there and attacked all of them, looking very scary with their claws out and teeth baring, and they were too fast for them to fight back.

"In the airship," Doc said.

We ran to it.

Once we all were inside, the animals got in too and Pikachu as well after zapping all of them one last time. Then we lifted off of the ground and headed toward Paris. But the Secret Scientists seemed to recover quickly somehow and followed us in Beeman's spacecraft.

"Can't summon a thunder cloud above them and strike them down?" I asked.

Mom laughed. "That would be awesome, but no."

I groaned. "Fine."

Doyle was looking over the cryptid radar.

"Got something," he said. "News wires lighting up all over France. Monster animals attacking Paris."

"Video just hit the satellites," Doc said, then who we suspected was behind all of this appeared on the screen. "I knew it. Zak Monday. They must've breeched our dimension again."

"Doc," Drew said, sounding worried. "If Zak Monday is trashing Paris, where's our Zak?"

He didn't answer. None of us did. We just had to hope that he was still here. And my twin brother too.

* * *

We finally arrived in Paris and we noticed Zak Monday was controlling Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon into treating him like he was the king. It made me want to be sick.

Drew grabbed a cortex disruptor and blasted Komodo, who was holding a chair with his tail and Zak Monday sitting on it. He fell off, which was funny.

"Sorry, Komodo," she said. "I promise it was set on low."

Then she, Doyle, and my family jumped out of the airship and managed to contain Fiskerton and Zon.

"No," Zak Monday said. "They're my toys."

Doc jumped down from the airship, landing behind him, and wrapped his arms around him. Zak Monday dropped his claw, which ended the connection between him and Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon. They looked sad and ashamed.

"You are going to take me to my son now," Doc told Zak Monday.

"Oooo, you sure you really wanna go there, Daddy?" he replied.

We all looked at each other and we knew where Zak was now. Then the damn Secret Scientists showed up and surrounded us.

"Don't move," Epsilon said. "We saw everything."

"Are you still going to argue that this was a big misunderstanding?" Francis asked.

"What? He's right here," Drew said. "You can see him."

"Ouch," Zak Monday said. "Daddy, your hug is hurting me."

That made us all mad.

"I'll Daddy you, you conniving little— Where's my son?" Doc said.

"Look at his hair," Doyle said. "He doesn't even look like Zak."

They got a closer look.

"Ah. Switched the salt for the pepper," Beeman said. "Could be hair dye."

"Oh my God," I said. "You people are all idiots."

Zak Monday managed to break free from Doc's grip. He picked up his claw and ran toward the Louvre Museum.

"Get him!" Doyle said.

"No duh," I said.

Then we all ran after him.

"Don't let him get away," Drew said. "He's the link to finding our Zak."

"I'll get him," I said.

I levitated myself off the ground, flew myself at Zak Monday, tackled him into one of the many windows of the museum, and landed on top of him.

"You are not going anywhere until I—"

My threat was interrupted when I was suddenly hit by a force that knocked me halfway across the room.

"Thanks, babe," Zak Monday said.

"Any time, babe," a voice replied.

I groaned and stood up from the floor. "Danielle."

"And Daniel," Daniel said.

"I don't have time to deal with the two of you right now," I growled.

"Oh, Sarah. I love it when you talk like that. Makes me all . . . tingly."

I gagged.

The fact that he was my twin brother's double, him hitting on me was just disturbing.

"You two are the most weirdest brother and sister I have ever met," I said.

"You bet your ass we are," Danielle replied.

And, to prove it even more, she kissed him on the cheek and wrapped her arms around him, and he seemed to like it.

That made me gag even more.

I summoned a fireball so big, so fast, and threw it at them. They didn't see it coming because they were too busy making out. It blasted them right outside the museum windows.

Huh. I have never made a fireball that strong before. I guess I do get stronger by the day.

Back on the situation.

Zak Monday had disappeared somewhere. But, just then, a bright purple light appeared from the center of the room and something big came out of no where and broke all of the windows of the museum. It was the airship, but it looked different.

Then I noticed Zak, my Zak, and he was running toward the smoke mirror that was the source of the purple light.

"Zak!" I called and ran up to him.

He noticed me and stopped. "Sarah. Why are you—"

I hugged him tightly. "Oh, I'm so glad you're ok."'

He hugged me back. "Me too. Come on. Let's go."

He grabbed the smoke mirror and we both ran back outside to meet our families.

Everything in Paris was moving crazily. Even the fish from the river seemed to be flying. The Secret Scientists were taking care of that.

Then we noticed Zak and Komodo Monday climbing into the airship.

"Hurry, before they can take off," Doc said.

He and everyone else ran to it, but Zak stopped them.

"Wait, no!" he called. "We have to let them go. Trust me."

"Zak, what are—" Drew began.

She was interrupted when the Monday's airship took flight.

"That airship is pure anti-matter," Doc said. "Our world can't handle that much other dimensional energy."

"Yeah, that's what they think too," Zak said. "But I know something else about their airship. I drained their power cells before I crossed over."

"But they'll just get a recharge from the—"

"The sun? Think about it, Dad. Our airship runs on sunlight, so . . ."

"There's runs on darkness," he finished.

"And it sure is a nice sunny day."

Just as he finished saying that, the Monday's airship lost power and fell toward the ground. That's when Zak made his move and placed the smoke mirror directly where they were falling. It activated and they fell right back to their own dimension.

Zak's parents hugged him.

"That's my boy," Drew said.

After they were done, I hugged and kissed him next, and I didn't care that both of our entire families were watching. "That's my boyfriend."

He smiled.

Then he grabbed the claw and moved toward the smoke mirror. "This time, we smash it to dust."

He was about to hit it when a man came up from behind him and stopped him.

"Wait," he said. "This mirror is the property of the museum and we have lost enough priceless artifacts already today, thank you."

He picked up the mirror.

"Misère, you don't understand," Drew said. "This mirror is filled with dark magic. A whole shadow world of—"

"I am familiar with the mirror's facular," he said. "We will take our chances."

And he walked off with the mirror.

"Asshole," Mom said.

"Doc, Drew, I am sorry," Miranda said, she and the other Secret Scientists walking up to us. "We didn't—"

"You did what you thought you had to," Drew told her. "I don't agree, but I do understand."

"You saved the family, Zak," Doc said. "Looks like our work gets to stay secret a little longer."

"Yep," Doyle said. "Just as long as nobody notices any of that."

He was gesturing to the whole city of Paris, and it was a mess.

"Oh."

"Please, allow me to take this one," Epsilon said. "My people have experience with cover-ups."

"Why am I not surprised?" I said. "And that is the least you could do."

He glared at me. I glared right back.

"Umm, Sarah?" Mom asked. "Where's Zack?"

I suddenly remembered why we rushed here in the first place.

I looked at Zak.

"I didn't see him when I crossed back," he said.

I ran toward the museum, tears running down my face.

I found him lying on the floor in the main room, glass lying all around him.

"Zack!" I called to him.

He was bruised all over his body, some of the glass having falled on him and pierced his skin a bit, but he was still breathing.

I stopped next to him, my family and Zak's following close behind.

"Zack, are you alright?" I held his head between my hands. "What happened?"

"Daniel . . . Danielle . . ." he croaked.

"Shhh," I said. "Don't speak."

Mom looked over him. "This is really bad." She also had tears in her eyes. "We need to get you fixed up and fast."

"You can take him to the airship," Drew offered.

"Then let's hurry."

Mom picked up Zack and we ran to the airship.

Oh, I hope he'll be alright.

* * *

 **Aww. Zack's hurt. I kind of liked writing this chapter. In the next one, a lot of things are going to be explained.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	35. The Truth About my Mom's Past

**Sarah's POV**

We took Zack to the infirmary room on the airship. Mom laid him on one of the beds and began bandaging up his wounds after applying healing cream to them. I tried to help, but I was crying too much

Zak was comforting me. "He'll be ok.

 _I hope so_ , I thought, but didn't say.

Mom finished him up, but he still looked disturbing.

"I'm going to kill Daniel and Danielle," I said.

"Sarah, you can try, but they'll never die," Mom said. "That's the rule: an evil clone can torture us all they want, and we can torture them too, but no matter how hard they try, they can't kill us and we can't kill them."

"Yeah, ok. But Daniel and Danielle have become very disturbingly close to each other."

"I know," Zack agreed. He was sounding better.

"What do you mean?" Mom asked.

"Let's just say that they're becoming more like a crazy couple than a crazy brother and sister," I said.

"Oh."

"Sarah?" Zack said.

"Yeah, Zack?" I asked.

"Don't tell Selena about this."

"But Zack, she's the one that called me and told me that you were in danger, and that's because you told her to call me."

"I know, but I don't think she can bare the news about me being hurt like this."

"That's only because she cares, Zack," Mom said.

"Mom's right," I agreed. "I also care. We all know that if something happens to you, I would take it worse than anyone else."

Zack smiled, wincing a little bit. "That's true. Same with me for you."

"You two really care about each other, don't you?" Drew said.

"Yes, we do," I replied. "Unlike most people, Zack and I aren't afraid to admit that we love each other, and that we hate being apart. Right, bro?"

"Right," Zack agreed. "And since when do you call me 'bro'?"

"Since I got tired of confusing which Zack I'm talking about."

He laughed and Zak did too.

"You two are so cute that way," Mom said.

Zack and I blushed.

"Hey, Zack," I said. "I finally got Mom to admit about 'that friend' of hers was a guy and was more than just her friend."

"Oh, really?" Zack replied, sounding impressed. Healing cream works really fast. "Did you get her to admit to anything else about him?"

"No. At least, not yet."

We both were looked at her.

She looked at the animals.

"They should know, Raylee," Amber told her.

"Yeah," Shillow agreed. "It'll probably help them understand you better."

She sighed. "I know. I guess now would be as good a time as any."

"We'll leave you guys to talk alone," Drew said.

"You guys don't have to go. This way, you can also learn more about me along with my children."

The Saturdays looked at each other and agreed. We all sat down on whatever we felt comfortable sitting on. I, of course, sat next to Zak.

Mom took a deep breath and conceded. "His name was Nick. I met him when I was twenty-one years old, and he taught me how to use my powers. We didn't like each other that much at first. To me, he was an ass. But, eventually, we became friends, best friends. I pretty much told him everything about me, things I never told anyone else, and he told me everything as well. We would literally hang out every single day, sometimes before, during, and after I went to work at an old job of mine. Mostly the only time during work, depending on what time of the year it was, was on my lunch break or when I was walking from one place to another. He was with me when I got Amber and Shillow and helped me train and raise them, which is why if I ever told them to bite him, he was one of the very few people they wouldn't bite. Then with Kimbia and the cubs. Pikachu I got on the day Narma gave me my powers, which happened to be on my twenty-first birthday. Back then, I didn't really have any friends, no one that I could or wanted to rely on. Just myself. At least, until, Nick came along and changed my life for the better."

"You didn't even have any family members that would help you?" I asked.

Mom stared at me. "No. Most of my family lived thousands of miles away, and I hadn't talked to any of them in years then, mostly because they and my mom had a really bad falling out. My whole family was so full of shit, which is why I wanted to get the hell away from them all. And I finally did once I turned eighteen. But we're not talking about my family, we're talking about Nick, so let's get back on that subject, ok?"

I held my tongue and sat back in my chair.

"Nick and I were always looking out for each other," Mom continued. "He's saved my life so many times that I've lost count. I've saved his life a couple times too. There was actually one time where my life was in danger and Nick tried to save me, but then his life was put in danger and I had to save us both. We both lost so much blood that night, and . . ." Mom looked at the animals and all of them had sad looks on their faces. "And something else, but I'll save that for another day. When I was twenty-four, I began to have feelings for Nick and they just got stronger with every passing day. And the same for him. But we both hid those feelings from each other for a few years. Sometimes we would act overfriendly with each other, but not for long. At least, not until I was thirty-one. We had both decided to stop hiding our feelings for each other and to come out with them. It was actually a rough time then for both of us, mostly because we were tired of hiding our true feelings from each other, so we finally became a couple after knowing each other for about ten years. We got married a year later." Mom smiled at the happy memory. "That was one of the happiest days of my life, and not just because I married my true love, but because of the surprise he gave me on our wedding day."

"What was it?" I asked.

"Umm, it's kind of a long story, but I'll come back to it eventually," Mom said. "Nick and I were married for ten years exactly. On our tenth anniversary, which was a few months after I officially became the Protector of America, we went to Paris, and you guys already know the rest."

"I don't," Zack argued.

I stood up, moved to the side of his bed, and touched his forehead. I closed my eyes, concentrating back to that conversation earlier, and my powers showed it to him, beginning with me yelling at Mom to stop saying 'that friend', and ending with us leaving the room to deal with the Secret Scientists.

"There," I said, pulling my hand away from his forehead and sitting back down in my seat. "Now you know the rest."

"Ok," Zack said. "Nick was killed by three men who hated him. Why did they—"

"Wait," I interrupted, realizing something. "Nick was an Immortal?"

"Yes," Mom replied.

"And he died?"

"Yes."

"But that doesn't even make sense. We're Immortals, and immortal means that you can't die at all. You even told us that, no matter how hard someone tries, we can't die. But we can get very injured."

"I know. Immortals can die, but it's still really hard to," Mom said. "Only an Immortal can kill and Immortal. It's not easy, but it's not impossible either, especially if you're full of rage. I've killed over ten."

"Why?"

Mom waved aside the question. "Long story. But anyway, yeah. Immortals can die."

"Ok, whatever. Oh, Zack, what were you saying about those men that killed Nick?"

"Why did they hate him so much?" he asked.

"Well, his sisters told me that they went to school together and that they hated Nick because he was popular because he comes from a big family and that all the girls liked him, not that I could blame them," Mom said. "And Nick hated them because they got an old wife of his to cheat on him with them. It's really all a load of typical crap. And they've had that feud with each other ever since."

"He had sisters?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. Do you remember those two women who helped us break out of that cell a few weeks ago on the day that your dad and Emily were in that car accident?"

I nodded.

"That was them. Nikki and Nicole."

"Oh. So when they said that the three of you use to be sisters, they meant sisters-in-law."

Mom nodded. "Yes."

A thought came to mind. "Wait. Mom I remember them saying that they were hunting down the men that killed Nick and that . . . raped and impregnated you. Is that true? Did they rape you?"

Mom hesitated. "Yes. When I was twenty-one years old. It was after I got my powers, but before I met Nick. They're criminals because of that. They've had so many victims. Women, basically. They have a warrant on them to be hunted and killed, but they're really good at running and hiding."

"Apparently. But what happened to the baby? The one that you got pregnant with?"

"I gave him up for adoption. Hardest thing I've ever done."

"Did you ever see him again?"

Mom smiled. "Uh, yeah, actually. That's what Nick gave me on our wedding day was my son. He had adopted him for me and raised him, but didn't tell me until ten years later. It was really sweet. We raised him together after that day."

"What was his name?"

"Alex."

"Where is he now?"

"Umm, I'm not sure. He's probably hunting down his father and his friends, along with Nikki and Nicole."

"Did you and Nick have any children together?" I asked.

"Yeah," Mom replied. "Two girls, Madison and Kiara."

"Do you still talk to them?"

"If I did, you would've known about them sooner."

"Why don't you talk to them anymore?"

"Well, while your father and I were still dating, and starting to get serious between us, I was . . . afraid."

"Of what?"

"Well, me being the Protector of America, I've dealt with a lot of cases involving people murdering their step-parents, and that worried me. Your father was actually the very first guy I really dated after Nick's death, and that was more then forty years ago."

"Whoa."

"Yeah. Me being the Protector of America made it tough for me to find someone who won't be intimidated by me. But when it got serious between me and your father, Alex, Madison, and Kiara wanted to meet him, but I didn't want them too."

"Because you thought they were going to chase him away?"

"No. I just didn't want to risk them hating him and kill him."

"They know better than that, Raylee," Amber said.

"I know that. I couldn't help but feel that way," Mom replied.

"Does Dad know about them?"

"Yes."

"But he didn't want to meet them?"

"I don't recall him ever saying that he did."

"And you haven't seen or spoken to them since . . ."

"Since before your father and I were engaged. I mean, I've tried talking to them, but they don't want to talk to me. I can't say I blame them, because I don't."

"Ok, so we have three much older half-siblings," I said.

"Yes," Mom said.

"Do you think they'll talk to us if we wanted to talk to them?"

She thought about it for a minute. "Maybe. But I'm not sure. I haven't talked to them in so long. And not a day goes by that I don't regret it."

Wow. I definitely feel like I know my mom better now.

"Sarah," Zack called to me.

I looked at him.

 _The picture_ , he said to me through telepathy.

I remembered it.

"Uh, Mom?" I said. "Do you think you can describe what Nick looked like to us?"

"You know how terrible I am at describing things," she replied.

"I know, but can you try? Just his facial appearance."

"I'll try." She took a deep breath. "Umm, he had brown hair, brown eyes, a clean shaved face, and slightly more tanned skin than mine."

I looked at Zack and we both had a silent agreement.

"So I guess you're not having an affair with him," Zack said.

"What?" Mom asked. "Why would you think I was?"

"Where's the picture?" I asked.

"In my left pocket," Zack replied.

I grabbed it out of his pocket and gave it to Mom. "Zack found this photo of you and Nick together last month and thought that you were having an affair with him."

She took the photo. "Well, I'll admit, that if I were ever to have an affair, it would be with him. Though, then again, if he were alive, I would probably still be married to him. I probably never would've married your father and you two, plus Emily, probably never would've been born or even conceived."

 _If he were alive_ , I replayed in my head.

Then I remember seeing him on the day that Dad and Emily were in that accident after Mom had left to go help them.

"Mom, I found that photo in your bag that you carry with you all the time," Zack said. "Why did you carry it with you, and when was it taken?"

"When Nick and I first started dating, seventy years ago," Mom replied. "And I carry it with me because I miss him. I think about him on his birthday, our anniversary, and whenever your father and I have an argument that Nick would know better than to argue with me about. But I also carry it to remind me that no guy I meet will ever be anywhere near as close to my heart as he is."

"How old would he be if he were still alive today?" I asked.

Mom blushed. "Umm, he would be 255 years old."

I stared at her. "Do you like dating men that have a huge age difference with you?"

"You know I don't base anything on age."

"Yeah, and I can see why."

She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry for accusing you of having an affair," Zack told Mom.

"It's ok," she said. "I actually use to always go see his grave every week after he died. I even took you two to see him when you were born. You two would always like to climb on his grave stone. But ten years ago, his grave disappeared, and I still don't know why to this day."

Zack and I looked at each other and we had a silent agreement again.

"Mom, you said that our powers can do almost anything," I said. "Can they bring someone back to life?"

"Yes," Mom replied. "But only one Immortal can do that. She's the most powerful Immortal in the Immortal world, and her powers can do literally anything. You have to beat her in combat, and if you do, she'll grant you any wish you'd like, even bring someone back from the dead. But she's really strong and it's really difficult to beat her. Nikki, Nicole, and I fought her to bring Nick back, but all three of us failed. You only get one chance to fight her for one or a few particular things, and if you fail, you don't get another chance to fight her again unless it's for something or someone different."

"That's harsh," I said.

Mom nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

Nick was alive. I knew it. Someone else must've fought that woman, beat her, and brought him back to life. But something was telling me not to tell Mom, so I decided to just ask her some questions.

"Mom, what if—"

 _Wait, Sarah_ , a man's interrupted through telepathy.

And I recognized it.

"What's wrong, Sarah?" Mom asked.

 _Pretend like nothing's wrong_ , the man told me.

I shook my head. "Umm, nothing."

 _Good. Now I want you to listen carefully. Your mother will most likely not answer honestly to the questions you're about to ask her. But I have a way that you can get her to, if you'll listen._

I thought about it for a moment. But before I gave him an answer, I decided to ask him my own questions first. I looked around the room, but I didn't see anyone out of the ordinary.

 _Where are you?_ I asked.

 _You're not going to find me, and I'm not going to tell you where I am_ , he replied.

 _Can you at least tell me who you are?_

 _We both know that you already know who I am. Stop wasting time. Everybody's staring at you._

He was right. Everyone was looking at me weird.

 _Fine_ , I told him. _What do you want me to do?_

 _It's a little risky_ , he said. _Mostly because your mother hates it, and because of that, I'm not surprised that she hasn't taught you or your brother it, but it's the only thing that'll work.  
_  
 _Ok. What?_

He told me what to do.

I held my hand out, focused really hard on it, flipped it over, and there was a bright orange orb in the middle of the palm of it.

Mom must've recognized it, because her eyes widened. "Sarah, what do you think you're doing?"

 _Don't answer. Just push it toward her_ , the man told me.

I did as he said.

"Sarah, don't you dare—"

The orb touched her and, I guess, melted into her.

She pounded the bed, surprisingly not breaking it, but really startled Zack, which was funny. "Damn you, Sarah. Why did you do that?"

I couldn't help but laugh. _What kind of power was that?_

 _The honesty power_ , he replied. Even he sounded like he was laughing too. _Now ask her your questions._

"Sorry, Mom," I said aloud. "I just wasn't sure you'd answer my next few questions honestly."

She sighed. "Fine. I guess, ask away."

"What if Nick came back to life? What do you think would happen?"

"I don't know. My life would definitely became more dramatic like I'm a teenager or something."

"Would you leave Dad to go back to him?"

She took a while to answer that. "Maybe. I mean, considering what's going on right now, I might actually do just that. But don't think I'll leave you two or Emily with him. I'll be damned if I ever do that. But I would kind of have no choice but to go back with him."

"Why?"

"Because Nick has done a lot for me, more than I can ever repay him for. He even took good care of my son for me, and I know that he would be just as caring for you three. I couldn't just leave Nick. It would be too hard for me, mostly because I love him too much to let him go. We were taken away from each other, and he was searching for a very, very long time for his true love before he finally found me. I just couldn't do that to him."

"What about Dad?" I asked.

Mom sighed. "Your dad knows how much I love Nick. And he knows that if it ever came between him and Nick, that I would choose Nick. I love your father, but not as much as I love Nick. But that doesn't mean that it would be easy for me to leave him for Nick. Especially since we have you two and Emily. I really don't want to think about it since it's probably never going to happen anyway."

Actually, it probably will someday.

"Are you done asking questions?" Mom asked.

I looked at Zack. He shook his head.

 _Is there anything you want me to ask her for you?_ I asked the man.

 _Yes_ , he replied. _A lot. But I can wait to ask her myself someday._

 _Ok._

"I think I've asked all the questions I could think of and I got my answers," I told Mom.

"Good," she said. "Now can you take the honesty out of me?"

"Uhh . . ."

 _A little help here, please_ , I thought. _You taught me how to do it. Now tell me how to get rid of it._

The man told me what to do and I took the honesty out of my mom.

 _Goodbye, Sarah_ , he said.

He disappeared from my head.

"Thank you," Mom said. "How did you even know how to do it? I know I didn't teach you that."

"Uh, my powers told me what to do," I lied.

"Damn them. Just don't do that again, ok?"

"I'm guessing you've had experience with it before?"

"Yeah. Nikki and Nicole did that to me to get me to admit that I had feelings for their brother. I hated it. It makes you answer honestly, even if you try to lie, you can't. But it doesn't keep you from saying anything at all. It just keeps you from saying or acting a lie."

"How do you act a lie?"

"It's possible."

"Ok. Well, if you guys don't mind, I would like to talk to Zack alone, ok?"

"Ok."

They all stood up from their seats and left the room. But I gave Zak a quick kiss before he left.

I sat down on the side of Zack's bed. "I told you you were wrong."

"I said I was sorry," he said. "You don't have to rub it in."

I laughed. "So that guy we met a few weeks ago was Nick."

"Yeah. I was wondering why you didn't tell Mom that when she mentioned about how we can bring someone back to life, but now I know why."

"You don't know all of it."

"What do you mean?"

"He's here right now."

"Again, what do you mean?"

"Nick was talking to me telepathically. He told me to and how to use the honesty power on Mom."

"Ok. Where is he now?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. But, all we know, he could still be in this room."

"Well, I do remember his sisters telling us he's been spying on us for the past ten years," Zack said.

"I remember that too. And Mom said that his grave stone disappeared that long ago as well, so that must be how long he's been back."

"Do you think if we call out to him, he'll appear to us?"

I shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

"Nick!" we called.

We waited a whole minute, but he didn't respond.

"He probably is still here, he's just being an ass and ignoring us," I said.

Zack laughed. "Probably. But do you think we should tell Mom?"

"Well, Nick told me that he would talk to her someday, so we should just let him tell her when he's ready to. And, until then, we should just keep that between ourselves. No telling Selena or Zak. Just ourselves."

"It's not like we haven't done that before."

"I know. But this is much more serious than any other time we've done it. This involves our whole family."

"I know."

"Good. Now rest. You need to allow your wounds to heal."

"I know that. And I will once you leave me alone."

I smiled, then kissed his forehead. "See ya later, bro."

"See ya later, sis."

I stood up from the bed and left the room.

I kept replaying the whole conversation with Mom in my head. I definitely felt like I knew and understood her more. And Nick? Well, whenever my mom finds out that he's alive again, our whole family will go through hell. Mom will probably be the one going through the most hell when that happens.

Talk about a serious love triangle.

* * *

 **Well, that was an interesting talk. What do you guys think about Nick?**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	36. Where Lies the Engulfer

**Zak's POV**

This is awesome. Doyle was finally giving me a whole day of training and, best of all, Sarah gets to come with us. Doyle actually didn't want her to come, but I insisted.

He was taking us to a small deserted town in a jet he borrowed from my dad. And he was flying it pretty fast, but he was making us wear blindfolds, which sucked.

"Feel that ride?" he asked us. "Man, nobody makes jets like they did in the sixties."

"You cannot be that old," Sarah said.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. "Isn't my dad the one you want to impress?"

"What?" he said. "You need more oxygen back there, miniman, because your brain's making crazy talk."

"Come on. He gets a new fighter jet, you've gotta get a new fighter jet. It's obvious you're working out some kind of jealousy issues.

"I think you're right, Zak," Sarah agreed.

"Turbulence!" Doyle said.

Then we felt the jet spin around.

"God, I feel like I'm on a roller coaster," Sarah said.

"Ok, I know you were just shutting me up, but that was so cool," I said. "One more time, and let me take off the blindfold."

"No can do, Zakman," Doyle said. "It's part of your final training mission. Time to learn about blackouts. The dirty world of deception, ruthlessness, and raw, brutal survival of the fist."

"That could not sound more awesome," I said.

"That could not sound more terrible," Sarah corrected.

I lifted the blindfold off my right eye for a moment and saw the town below us.

"Come on," I said. "Don't I get a hint or anything?

"Nah. Just a piece of advice," Doyle replied. "Roll with the landing."

I didn't know what he meant. Until he pressed the execute button and me and Sarah shot out of the jet, the seat, and everything. But, luckily, the seat had a parachute, so we landed alright.

We took our blindfolds off and unstrapped ourselves from the seat.

"That was so not fun," Sarah said. "How were we supposed to roll while strapped to that seat?"

I laughed, then I looked around at our surroundings. "Cool."

Doyle landed near us using his jet pack.

"Mountain View Resort," he said. "Found the place a few years back. Been using it as a training ground ever since."

"What happened to the resort?" I asked.

"Uh, who knows? These kind of dream projects go broke all the time. I say, never question a place where nobody cares if you blow up a building or two."

"We're blowing up buildings?"

"Up to you. These are the only rules for your final exam: Your goal is to find and reach my jet, which is somewhere just outside of town. My job is to stop you."

"Oooo, a test. And I completely forgot to study."

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Joke all you want, miniman," Doyle said. "But I'm not gonna take it easy on you. The word of the day is deception, and you're dealing with the master. You have no idea what you're in for."

"Apparently not," Sarah said.

"You better hydrate. You're about to get the workout of your life."

He threw us both a bottle of water.

"You bring bottled water to a town with its own lake-fed water system?" I asked.

"If you've lived in as many sketchy places as I have, you wouldn't trust the tap water either."

I dumped out the water. "You know, it's kind of hard to be intimidated by a tough guy whose afraid of water."

I walked over to the nearest faucet and turned it on. The water that poured out looked . . . weird. I could tell that it wasn't something I wanted to drink.

I turned it off and closed the lid. "Uh, I'll, uh, save it for later."

"Enjoy," Doyle said. "By the way, you've got a minute to run."

"Wait. We're going already?"

"Yep. And I already told you my first lie. I'm actually going to start blasting in ten seconds."

I laughed, thinking he was joking. That is, until, he aimed his blaster at me and shot it. I barely dodged it.

I grabbed Sarah's hand and we ran. We came behind a tall statue in the center and I used the claw to get us on top of it. Luckily, Doyle didn't notice.

"You're really gonna want more cover than that," he said.

He walked around the statue and was surprised not to see us.

I slingshot the claw onto another statue about twenty feet away, swung to it, and jumped down. Then he noticed us.

"Oh, did we deceive you?" I said.

Sarah laughed.

We ran off again.

"Don't think it'll happen twice," Doyle called.

"It'd be surprising if we did," Sarah said.

We ran between two small buildings and at the end of them were stacked logs. I looked behind us and noticed Doyle. He just waved at us.

I was confused. "What is he trying to—"

"Zak, watch out!" Sarah called.

Suddenly, the logs exploded in front of us, and I almost got hit by it.

I was breathing hard.

"Whoa," Doyle said. "Hey, are you alright, miniman? I didn't realize I put so many logs in that trap. You need a breather?"

"You almost crushed my head!" I exclaimed. "Yeah, I could use a sec."

"He's kidding, Zak," Sarah said.

"She's right," Doyle agreed. "At least one of you knows what deception means."

"Oh, come on."

He blasted at some wood next to us and we jumped to dodge it. Debris flew all over the place. We ran inside a building to get away from it.

"He's really making me mad," Sarah said.

I nodded in agreement.

The building we had ran into was a gift shop. Then I felt someone else's presence behind me. I turned around, but didn't see anyone.

"I don't think we're the only ones in here," Sarah said.

"I don't think so either," I agreed.

Then we both were being blasted at.

"Souvenir shopping?" Doyle said. "Maybe some nice smoked meat. And, hey, if you don't get your head in this, maybe you'll be smoked meat."

We ran into a bathroom and locked the door behind us. He kept blasting at it.

I groaned.

I walked up to the sink and noticed some writing on the mirror.

"'Do not use,'" I read out loud. "Man. The tap water really that bad?"

"It seems so," Sarah said.

"Come on. Doyle's probably already used his best tricks."

"I doubt it. I mean, this is Doyle we're talking about."

I walked up to the small window in there and was about to open it when I looked outside and noticed that we were moving.

"Ok. That's creepy," Sarah said.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

We decided to go out the door. When we opened it, there was smoke all over the place and a fire. We moved near the exit and hid behind the counter.

"Come on, Doyle," I said. "Watcha got?"

Then I felt that other presence again. Sarah did too.

"Someone else is in here," she said. "But it's not Doyle."

"Then who is it?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. But we should probably—"

She screamed.

She was being pulled away. I barely had time to grab onto her hands.

"It's got my foot."

"What does?" I asked.

"I don't know, but it's not letting go."

"I'm not gonna let you go either."

But her hands were already slipping.

We were being thrown from side to side. Eventually, Sarah couldn't hold on any longer, but trying desperately to, her hands slipped out of mine.

She started being pulled away from me. "Zak!"

"Sarah!" I called.

I tried to follow, but she was gone. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Then I heard a knocking sound. I turned around and noticed Doyle outside the bathroom window. He held up a grenade and pointed into the room.

"Aww, man," I groaned.

This was so not the time.

I moved toward the exit, but the flames from the fire blocked it from me. I heard the grenades fall into the room and they exploded a few feet away. I looked up and noticed a sky light on the ceiling.

More grenades fell at my feet.

I grabbed a teddy bear off one of the stands, plopped it on top of the grenades, and laid on top of it. When the grenades exploded, the impact on the teddy was enough to lift me in the air and through the skylight. I landed on the roof, still holding the teddy bear.

"Aww, Fisk is gonna love that," Doyle said, appearing next to me. "It's fire proof, right? Safety first."

He blasted me again and I moved to dodge it.

"Will you stop your stupid game for a second?" I said. "There's something going on in this town."

I ditched the teddy bear and he blasted it to pieces.

I walked back to the skylight. "Down in the store, there was something else after me and Sarah and it got her."

"Really?" Doyle asked sarcastically. "That's the best lie you could come up with? Maybe you weren't ready for this test."

"I'm serious. Where do you think Sarah is right now? Whatever took her may have came back and be right down—"

I looked down the skylight and didn't see anything.

Doyle looked down too. "I don't see anything. Sarah get's this game better than you seem to. You should follow her instead."

I ran to the edge of the roof and slingshot myself over into a building right next to this one. I was in the main room when I noticed a sign on the wall above the fire place.

"'It's Alive!'?" I read out loud. "What's that all about?"

Then a grenade came in down the chimney. I knocked it away and it blew up. I ran outside and hid behind a tree.

"You can't hide forever, Zak," Doyle said. "And you're not even close to finding the jet."

"I'm not kidding, Doyle," I replied. "I know there's something here, something unnatural, and it took Sarah. I can feel it behind me."

"That's an amateur con, Zak. Never try the same trick twice. And, more importantly, never give away your position."

He suddenly tackled me.

We rolled for a moment and I was able to get off him.

"I don't care about passing your test, Doyle," I said. "I just need you to listen to me. This isn't a trick."

"Sorry, but that's exactly what someone trying to _trick_ me would say," he replied.

I groaned.

I grabbed the bottle of water out of my pocket. "I said, listen."

I threw it at him. He blasted it, and when it broke open, the water inside of it suddenly attached itself around his whole head. He couldn't breath.

"Doyle!" I said.

I tried to, I guess, pull it off of him, but it wouldn't budge. Then, suddenly, the water in the lake began to rise up like it had arms and came toward us.

I pushed Doyle out of the way and into a bamboo patch. Doyle was still having trouble with the water on his head and I knew he was eventually going to run out of breath. I grabbed the claw and activated my powers, but he stopped me and gestured to the water.

"I know it's a lake," I said. "I have to _try_ my cryptid powers." I broke off a piece of bamboo. "Try this."

I stuck it through the water and into his mouth and he was able to breathe with it. Then the water from the lake wrapped around my foot and pulled me back.

I tried to grab onto something, but there wasn't anything I could grab onto. Doyle stopped the water from pulling me to the lake with the fire from his jet pack.

"Give it some more heat, Doyle," I said. "It's working."

He did as I told him, though I'm surprised he was able to hear me.

The water pushed him away and he landed next to me. Then it came after us.

"Let's go!" I said, then grabbed his arm and ran.

We ran into the middle of town and the water from around Doyle's head washed away and he spit the stick out of his mouth.

"Hey!" he called. "Don't you know a trap when you see one? When the enemy leaves one escape route open, that's the way you _don't_ wanna go."

"Seriously?" I asked. "You're still doing deception lessons? There's a lake trying to swallow us."

"A lake that was smart enough to short out my jet pack."

"Ok, if it's so smart, why would it send us away from itself into the middle of town?"

Then we heard the water pipes creak and I suddenly knew why.

"A town with a lake-fed water system," I said without any enthusiasm.

"Oh, yeah," Doyle said. "We just got played."

The water attacked us again.

We ran between a few buildings, and when the water came at us, Doyle held a trash can up and it went into it. But it came back out and, somehow, picked up the trash can and threw it at us.

We barely missed it.

"It can throw?" I asked in disbelief. "It's water!"

"Told you it was smart," Doyle said.

We ran again and the water followed.

"Where's your jet?" I asked Doyle.

"Uh, it's not easy, Zakman," he replied.

"What? You're still trying to test me now?"

"No, it's—"

The water was washing down the path we were on.

"Grab on!" I said, holding up the claw.

Doyle grabbed it and I slingshot us onto the big statue. We swung around it a couple times and landed back down on the ground, the water following.

"Come on," Doyle said, gesturing to a candy shop. "I've got a sweet spot."

"Does your brain actually think in cheesy one-liners?" I asked.

We ran inside the shop and looked around. The water followed through the pipes inside.

"In here!" Doyle said, gesturing to a freezer.

We ran inside it and locked ourselves in.

"Locked in an ice cream freezer?" I asked. "This is your escape plan?"

"It'll give us a chance to figure out a plan," Doyle replied.

"What's there to figure out? We need to find Sarah, get to your jet, and get out of here."

"Hey, I trained in this town, remember? This is the one air-tight, water-tight room I know."

"You said it's just outside of town. Let's make a run for it."

Doyle shifted himself uncomfortably.

"What?"

"Uh, yeah, that was sort of another deception," he replied. "The jet's actually a few miles out of town, on the other side of the mountain pass."

"What?!"

"There was an object lesson or something, but I don't know. It kind of seems unimportant right now."

I sighed.

Then I noticed that there was a note on one of the tubs of ice cream. I picked it up and looked it over.

"Watcha got?" Doyle asked.

"It's a last will testament," I replied. "And a warning." I began to read it out loud. "'I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We took the water from the cursed lake. Now the lake is taking us.' I guess that explains how you trained here with no problem. You're always bringing your own water."

"Solid policy," he said.

"But I took lake water. From the pipes when I filled that bottle. And now the lake is gonna do to us whatever it did to the people of Mountain View."

"Hey, don't bent yourself up, miniman. I thought the tap water was bad-germy, you know, not bad evil."

His words didn't help much.

But then a thought came to me. "Wait. How did the lake get the guy who wrote this note if he was locked in an air-tight, water-tight room?"

Then we heard water running up from the vent at our feet.

"Guess we're making that run for it," Doyle said.

I grabbed the claw and broke the knob on the door with it. Doyle then kicked it down and began throwing grenades at the water. It seemed to work.

"Go!" he said.

We bolted for the door and continued to run.

A wave of water came after us.

"We should probably . . ." I began.

"Yeah," Doyle agreed. "In there."

We ran into yet another store, a sporting store to be exact. We jumped and hid inside a canoe. The water passed us by.

"I think we're cool," Doyle said. "For now."

"You know, it'd be a lot easier to come up with a plan if we had a jet to escape in," I said.

It may have been harsh and unnecessary, but I couldn't help it.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Doyle said. "I didn't know there was an evil demon lake. I'm not going to apologize for my training methods."

"Training methods?" I said. "All you've done is lie to me this whole time."

"Doc asked me to teach you the things I know, and what I know isn't always pretty. What kind of enemies do you think you're up against? Van Rook? Argost? I used to work for those guys, remember? They lie, they cheat, they—will—hurt you. I'm trying to teach you how to beat them."

"What, by turning me into one of them?" I asked. "The way to beat guys like that is to be better than them. To be the good guys. That's the way my mom and dad taught me. Where'd you learn your way?"

He didn't answer, but instead gritted his teeth.

The water came back, and came into the store. I leaned down in the canoe as much as I could and stayed quiet.

"We can't hide forever," Doyle whispered. "I've got an idea. It's a gamble, but it'll give us at least a chance. My jet pack has a breathing mask with emergency—"

The water moved below us and then passed by.

"An emergency reserved oxygen tank," Doyle continued, pulling it out of his jet pack. "I'll draw the lake's attention, you make a run for the jet. If I get grabbed, I'll have enough air to last until you get to the jet and call for help."

"Are you kidding?" I asked. "There's no way—"

The water passed by again.

"There's no way help will show up in time. How much air can you even have in an emergency reserve tank, like, thirty minutes?"

"Four hours," he said. "I'm paranoid about emergencies."

"You're paranoid about everything. But, even with four hours—"

He stood up from the canoe. "Use the back door."

He ran out of the store, the water following him.

I hopped out of the canoe and ran out the back door like he told me to. Then I ran up the hill and through the woods.

"Zak!" a voice called.

I turned toward the direction it came from and my heart skipped a beat. "Sarah!"

She was running toward me. I ran to meet her and gave her a hug.

"You're ok," I said. "But how did you get away from the water?"

"I remembered that I have powers," she replied. "So it was easy to get away from it. But it's weird that, the fact that it's water, it's got a mind of it's own. Do you know how that's possible?"

I shook my head. "No. But at least you're ok. I've been really worried about you."

"So was I. And you also managed to get away. But where's Doyle?"

I told her what had happened as fast as I could. When I was done, she just stared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, my powers did tell me that he was lying to you when he said that the jet was just outside of town," Sarah replied. "But, wow. He really has changed since we first met him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he used to always take chances with someone else's life on the line, mostly yours, but now he's sacrificing himself to save you. That's really sweet. But, Zak, how many times are you going to keep falling for his deception before you finally realize he's lying? Though, I'll admit, he's a damn good liar."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Zak, four hours?" Sarah said. "There is no way an oxygen mask can hold that much oxygen for that long. I doubt even an hour."

I thought about it for a moment and realized she was right.

I groaned and face palmed myself. "Of course he was lying. I can't believe I fell for that."

"Yeah, and we've got about ten minutes left before he runs out of oxygen," Sarah said.

What a way to rush me.

I looked back at all the buildings and saw one in particular that may help us.

"Ok, new plan," I said, then grabbed Sarah's hand. "Let's go."

And we ran to it.

* * *

After getting there, I grabbed a wheel barrel near by and Sarah and I filled it with as much bags of cement as fast as we could.

Then we took it to the lake. When we got there, I noticed that it had Doyle.

"Hey!" I called to it. "Up here! Come on, eyes on me."

The water came up and at us.

"That's right," I taunted. "I'm talking to you, water. You want a piece of this? Come on!"

I stuck the claw into a bag of cement and slingshot it at the water. Once it reached it, I pulled back and the bag ripped open, landing on the water and freezing it a little bit. I ripped open a couple more cement bags on it to stop it completely.

"Gotcha!" I said in triumph. "How's that quick cement taste? Boom! It's called deception, sucker. Oh, yeah."

"Ok, Zak," Sarah said. "That's enough."

I brought the wheel barrel down to the edge of the lake, then I noticed Doyle had resurfaced.

"Doyle!" I called.

He walked toward us, but the water intercepted him, one going after him, another coming after us.

"No you don't," I told it, then slingshot another bag of cement at it.

Sarah had jumped into the water for Doyle and brought him out.

He was coughing out some water.

"Doyle, you ok?" I asked. "Can you make a run for it?"

"As long as . . . there's no more . . . swimming," he replied, sounding out of breath.

The water came at us again.

"We should probably . . ."

"Yeah," I agreed.

I jumped on top of the wheel barrel. Doyle grabbed it and began pushing it up the mountain and Sarah was flying near us with a couple of cement bags in hand just in case the water got too close to us, because it was following us.

I was doing the same thing. I threw a couple of cement bags at it and it ran into a tree. The water stopped following us after that.

"Hey, seriously, thanks for coming back," Doyle told me. "I'm glad you're one of the good guys."

"Guess that means I failed the down-and-dirty blackouts test, huh?" I said.

"It's overrated. I couldn't even trick an eleven-year-old kid about an emergency oxygen tank."

"You did at first," Sarah said. "But I, eventually, got to him."

He laughed. "We'll count saving my life as extra credit."

"You better."

* * *

We had finally reached the jet, and when we got into it, I called my parents immediately.

Mom answered.

"Hi, Mom," I said.

"Hey, sweetie," she said. "How's the training going?"

"Great. Hey, you think we can get some cement mix air-lifted in, like, a lot?"

She was confused by that.

I told her the whole story, and she got Dr. Cheechoo to take care of it.

* * *

When we got back home, we had brought a sample of the water back for Dad to analyze, and, while he was doing that, both Sarah and I were talking to both of our families about everything that had happened today.

"You're lucky you escaped alive, Zak," Dr. Cheechoo told me. "The Curtilage Tribe called this Lake Cakecamemine, the Engulfer. Still, it'd be nice for once if you guys could visit my country without wrecking our eco system."

"Actually, it looks like something else was already doing the wrecking," Dad said. "Billions of little somethings. The lake water's been infected by a sort of microbial community of cryptid parasites, existing only to destroy and consume."

"Billions of micro cryptids," I said. "No wonder I couldn't find just one brain to latch on to with my power."

"These things must've been like a poison on the whole area," Mom said. "Really, I think the local eco system should be thanking us."

"Fine," Dr. Cheechoo said. "On behalf of my country's eco system, thanks for killing the lake."

"Yeah, that's a weird sentence," Raylee said.

"Anytime," Doyle said.

"Bottle of water?" I asked him, offering him one.

He looked a little startled, but then relaxed. "Now, I've got nothing left to teach you."

"That's good," Sarah said, and gave me a hug.

Well, today was a weird day. We killed a lake that was trying to kill us.

That's just the normal day of a Saturday.

* * *

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	37. Shadows of Lemuria

**Zak's POV**

"Don't think, act," I told Fiskerton while spinning a globe in front of him. "Go on instinct. Now, Fisk, be a Lemurian. Be a Kur Guardian. Show me where in the world we find Kur."

I was trying to help him with his Lemurian side, and I had him put on a blindfold.

"Come on. Go!"

He concentrated for a moment, then he stuck his finger through Europe and back out South America, which clearly didn't tell us where.

"I don't get it," I said. "Your Lemurian instincts have come out before. How'd you do it last time?"

He did a little charade.

"What, you just shut off your brain?" I asked. Then an idea came to mind. "We can do that."

I took him to the living room. Along the way, we bumped into Sarah.

"Oh, hey guys," she said. "What's up?'

"I'm helping Fisk with his Lemurian instincts," I replied.

She nodded. "Ok. But, uh, Zak, I really need to talk to you. It's kind of important."

"Oh. Can it wait?"

She hesitated for a moment and sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, it can wait."

"Ok. Come on."

We got to the living room and I turned on the TV to a monkey food fight.

"Anything yet?" I asked Fisk.

He was drooling.

"How is that suppose to help him?" Sarah asked.

"Hey, we gotta start somewhere," I replied. "We should keep trying." I leaned back against the couch and laughed. "Monkeys."

Then, suddenly, Fiskerton stuck his hand inside the cushions of the couch and pulled out a spring. He began to change the shape of it.

"Fisk, what're you doing?" I asked.

He couldn't hear me because he was in some kind of trance. He changed the spring into a figure with three pointy ends on top.

"Whoa," I said. "What is that? Fisk. Hey, Fisk!"

I shook him out of his trance.

He noticed the figure in his hand and hid it behind his back.

"What just happened?" I asked him. "What is that thing?"

He pretended not to know what I was talking about.

"The thing behind your back," I said. "Come on. Let me see."

I tried to look behind his back, but he grabbed me and threw me onto the couch.

Sarah managed to grab the figure from behind his back and examined it. "It looks kind of like—"

She was interrupted when Fisk snatched it out of her hand and pushed her down. Then he ran out of the room.

"Oh, you wanna play Keep Away, huh?" I said.

Sarah and I followed him.

He ran into a hallway and was trying to put the figure in a closet.

"Ha. Busted!" I said.

He heard me and was trying frantically to put it away. Then a whole lot of things that were the same shape as the figure that Fiskerton had, both big and small, fell on top of him.

"Fisk, what's going on?" I asked.

He turned from me for a moment, then looked back. He didn't seem to know what was going on himself. I examined the figures and knew he needed help.

* * *

I told my parents about what had happened, showed them the figures, and they suggested to have one of the Secret Scientists come over and check his brain, so that's what we did and called over Dr. David Bara.

When he got here, we showed him the figure and he looked it over. Then he suggested on doing something with Fiskerton's brain.

"You were right to call me," he said. "I don't know what it means either, but something inside Fiskerton's brain sure does."

Fisk didn't look happy about that.

"It's ok," Mom assured him. "He's one of us, a Secret Scientist."

"Dr. Bara is a Para neurologist," Dad said. "Hypnotism, mesmerism, dreams, subconscious."

"Your brain keeps telling you to make this shape for a reason," Dr. Bara told Fisk. "We're gonna pop that melon open and find out why."

Fiskerton didn't like the sound of that.

"Figure of speech. We're actually gonna hot-wire your brain with electrons while you're sleeping."

Fiskerton was still unsure and looked at me.

"Mom and Dad say it's safe," I told him. "And this is kind of your own fault."

He seemed offended by that and confused by why.

"How long have you been obsessed with this shape, and you didn't even tell me? I thought we trusted each other, Fisk."

He was silent for a moment, then said he was scared.

"You were scared?" I asked. "It's ok. You've got a scary job. But that doesn't mean—"

He was shaking his head, then pointed at me.

"You're scared for me? But why would you be—"

"Zak, honey, think about it," Mom said. "Fiskerton's ability is suppose to lead us to Kur, the most powerful cryptid on earth."

"If that evil gets loose, especially in Argost's hands, you may be the only one who can stop it," Dad added. "I can't say I'm eager to see that showdown either."

I took what they said to heart and looked at Fisk.

"Really?" I asked him.

He nodded.

"Well, I guess, thanks? But I don't need you to protect me. We're a team. The Kur Guardian and the Kid Whose Powers Mean He Can Fight Kur."

Sarah and Zack laughed. The last thing I said did sound ridiculous.

"We really need a cooler title for me."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed.

"Anyway, if a showdown's coming, we'll face it together. All of us."

Fisk smiled.

But Sarah looked sad, and maybe a little guilty. I decided now wasn't the best time to ask her what was wrong.

"Alright," Dr. Bara said. "Now let's put your brain to sleep."

He picked up a hypnotizing statue.

"I can do that," Sarah said.

She walked up to Fiskerton and touched the tip of her finger to his forehead.

He fell asleep instantly.

"Ok," Dr. Bara said. "Once Big Fuzz settles into deep rem sleep, we'll be able to navigate his dream and brain patterns on the midlaps moderate system. If anything spikes, we'll give his gray matter a poke. Hopefully, we'll shake something loose. Good?"

"And how exactly are we 'poking' Fisk's brain?" I asked.

He had a couple of hot wires in his hands and they were sparking.

He hid them behind his back. "It's, uh, it's all very sciency."

"Sure it is," Sarah said.

"Come on," Dad told me. "It'll take him a while to reach rem state. Let's walk."

"Can I come?" Sarah asked.

Dad nodded.

The three of us left the room.

"We're all worried about Fiskerton, Zak," Dad said. "But Dr. Bara is a professional."

"I know," I said. "But how do we know his machines won't hurt Fisk?"

"Because I'm a dad. We have a built-in danger sense. Umm-hmm. Good. All clear."

Sarah and I stared at him.

Then I noticed something on the ceiling.

"It was a joke," Dad said, though I wasn't paying much attention.

"Yeah, uh, no offense, but it wasn't a very good one," Sarah said. "Well, it was good, but it was kind of more cute than it was funny."

"No guys, look," I said, gesturing to the ceiling. "Slowly."

They looked in the direction I was gesturing to and noticed what I saw.

"A neural parasite," Dad said. "One of Argost's mind-controlling pets."

I grabbed the claw and aimed it at it.

"Careful, Zak."

"It's ok," I said. "I don't think it's seen us."

I concentrated really hard. Until Komodo came by and noticed it.

"Komodo, no!"

I slingshot the claw at the neural parasite before he could get it, but it missed and the parasite took flight. It flew in my face and I did whatever I could to get it off.

"Zak!" Dad and Sarah called.

Dad grabbed onto it and tried to pull it off.

"Get it off!" I said.

"Just stand still," Dad said.

The parasite moved onto my back, bit into my skin, and I could no longer see or feel my body.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

Bad, terrible news. The neural parasite had just latched itself onto Zak and he began acting weird.

"Oh, what a marvelous new toy," he said, but it wasn't Zak's voice.

I had a sudden déjà vu moment from the very first day I met the Saturdays when that Secret Scientist was being controlled by a neural parasite.

"Let him go, Argost," Dad said.

"But, Daddy, don't you love me anymore?" he replied.

It was really disturbing to hear him talk out of Zak.

He jumped past us and ran down the hall and into another room. We followed behind him. Zon was in the next room and Argost called her to him. She flew near him and he jumped on top of her.

"Zon, no!" Doc said. "He's not Zak."

She flew away with him on her back, then the parasite latched onto her. Argost was now in control of Zon and he knocked Zak off his back. Doc jumped over the edge and caught Zak, then used the claw to grab onto the railing and they landed alright.

I jumped down toward them while Komodo jumped on top of Zon.

"Zak!" I called.

"Are you alright?" Doc asked.

He rubbed his face. "I'm fine. Where's the parasite?"

Doc pointed to Zon.

Komodo managed to knock her on the ground and the parasite was now on him. He ran out of the room.

"Drew," Doc said into his ear piece. "We've got a major problem."

We ran after Komodo.

Argost somehow knew how to activate his invisibility, but that didn't make it difficult for me to find him, thanks to my aura.

We followed him down a hallway and when we caught up to him, he became visible, but the parasite was off of him. Then we noticed Drew, Zack, and our pets, but Drew was acting weird.

"Mom!" Zak called.

"Who wants first kisses?" Argost asked from Drew's mouth.

I could tell that we all wanted to gag.

He used Drew's fire sword and stabbed it into the ground, making a circle around her, or his, feet, making a hole, and jumped down into the floor below.

"That's the green house level," Doc said. "Come on!"

We all jumped down the hole.

Argost was running. Zak used the claw to wrap around his, or her, legs and she fell to the ground. We moved toward her cautiously.

"Watch for the parasite," Doc said.

Uh-duh.

Drew stood up. "It jumped off me when I hit the dirt."

She was back in control of her own body.

We moved in a tight circle.

Zack and I unsheathed our swords.

"Keep an eye on each other," Doc said. "Look for sudden changes, posture, voice, attitude, something like this."

His voice changed at that last part and we noticed the parasite was on him.

He turned on us and tackled Drew to the ground, holding her down by her arms. Komodo tackled him off of her. He bit Doc and he screamed in pain. The parasite moved on to Zon, then Zak got it off of her and it tried to get on to him. The cubs and Zack tried to help, and, well, you get the idea. It pretty much just jumped on us one after another and we just kept knocking it off of each other.

The only good thing about this is that when it tries to latch itself onto me or Zack, our powers keep it from controlling us. Too bad it doesn't work for our pets though, so only me and Zack are able to get it off of them.

I'm pretty sure Argost is laughing his ass off right now on how hard it is for us to deal with just one parasite. I know I would be.

Eventually, the parasite decided to settle with Zak as his puppet.

"Doc, he's got Zak," Drew said.

Doc intercepted him as he was trying to leave the room, but he used the claw to jump over Doc and ran for the elevator. We tried to stop him, but he wrapped the claw around a tree and pulled it down in front of us, blocking our path. But I'll be damned if I let him get away with controlling Zak.

I jumped over the tree and tackled him, knocking us both into the elevator shoot. We fought the whole way down to the bottom floor. I managed to get on top of his back.

I punched the parasite. "Get off of him."

But it just moved to my back.

"Get off of me."

It moved back onto Zak and Argost controlled him to get me off of him and kicked me back into the elevator.

I hate to admit it, but he's a little more skilled in Zak's body than Zak is himself. That's sad coming from his girlfriend.

Argost went to the room where Dr. Bara was with Fiskerton, of course.

By the time I reached him, it was too late.

The parasite had latched itself onto Fiskerton.

* * *

 **Zak's POV**

I came back in control of myself from Argost only to hear Fiskerton screaming in pain.

"Fisk, no!" I said.

"Zak, the parasite's on him," Sarah said.

Yeah, I kind of already figured that out. Why else would he be screaming in pain?

He was moving around crazily.

"Fisk!" I called.

Me and Dr. Bara tried to calm him, but he hit us away.

"No, Zak," Dr. Bara said. "Something's wrong here."

"Really?" Sarah and I both said sarcastically.

"Something more than that brain bug. Whatever's happening, I don't think Argost is in control."

"He's not," Sarah said. "But he's fighting hard to be, and Fisk is fighting back just as hard."

"I don't care if he's not in control," I said. "I'm getting that thing off of Fisk."

I began to walk toward him until the alarms started to blare, and the machines in the room were moving on their own. They picked the three of us up and threw us out of the room, closing the door behind us.

I tried to move it, but it wouldn't open. I pounded on it. "Fisk!"

"Zak!" I heard Mom call.

She, Dad, Komodo, Zon, Zack, and the cubs appeared.

"Where's Argost's parasite?" Dad asked.

"It's on Fisk," I replied frantically. "And I can't get in to him. I don't know what's going on."

"He's already got his own brain and the Lemurian subconscious from space," Dr. Bara said. "Add Argost's specimen on top of that, it's too much. His subconscious is pushing back violently."

"Pushing back how?" I asked.

My parents knew the answer to that.

"His brain is wired straight into the medical lab," Mom said. "He's lashing out with our own equipment."

I understood now. "Fisk."

The machines were causing a lot of smoke, so I couldn't really see that much inside the room.

"No," I decided. "I can stop this."

I grabbed the claw.

"Bad idea, Zak," Dr. Bara said.

"He's right," Sarah agreed. "Fisk's already in enough pain as it is."

I ignored them. "I know you're in there, Fisk." I activated my powers. "It's me. You've gotta let me insi—ahh!"

I stumbled back.

"Zak!" Mom called.

Dad caught me before I hit the floor.

I rubbed my head. "He lashed out at me. Why would he do that?"

"He's hurting, honey," Mom said. "He doesn't know what he's doing."

"I wouldn't try that again," Dr. Bara said. "Brain's a nasty weapon when it's unstable. Too much contact could be fatal to you and him."

"So I'm just suppose to leave him in there alone?" I asked in disbelief. "He's my brother. I can't just—"

I was interrupted when the door suddenly opened and three big robots, who looked a lot like Fisk, walked out. They walked toward us and we walked back away from them.

"His brain built these?" Dad asked.

"Never underestimate the subconscious," Dr. Bara said.

The robots picked us up with their robotic arms and threw us aside, then they walked off in different directions, one going to the elevator, another down the hall, and the last through the wall.

"We'll never get his mind back under control with those things running wild," Dr. Bara said. "We've gotta stop them."

"We'll need to split up," Dad said.

"Sarah, Zon, and I will take the one in the elevator," I said.

"I'll go with you guys," Zack said, then turned toward the cheetah cubs. "You guy go with them. They'll need your help."

The four of them nodded in agreement, and off we went.

* * *

Our team followed the robot up the elevator and down another elevator. We caught up to it, and I had Zon throw me at it and sank the claw into its body. Sparks flew.

"Yeah. Eat claw, Sparky," I said.

The robot spun its head in a circle, spinning me so fast it threw me back, knocking me right into Zon and right into Doyle's bedroom.

I noticed Raylee, Shillow, Amber, Kimbia, and Pikachu were in the room with him.

"Knocking," Doyle said with his back to us. "Why is that so hard to—" Then he noticed us knocked on the ground. "Whoa. What happened?"

Sarah and Zack came into the room.

"Mom?" they asked when they noticed her.

"Why are you in here?" Zack asked.

"What, I can't talk to Doyle or something?" she replied with a question.

"No, it's just . . . weird."

She just laughed. "It used to be, but not anymore. So, Sarah, have you told Zak yet?"

"Told me what?" I asked.

"We've been a little too busy," she replied. "And you would know that if you didn't spend all morning in here."

"What do you need to tell me?" I asked.

"Zak, listen—"

Then the robot came into the room.

"Robots," Doyle said. "Well, that's different."

"Yeah," Raylee agreed.

The robots began destroying everything and we were doing whatever we could to stop it.

"You want to catch me up?" Doyle asked.

"Catch you up?" I asked, annoyed.

I slingshot the claw onto the robot's head and pulled back, stopping it momentarily.

"Where have you been, Doyle?"

The robot spun it's head around, pulling me toward it and throwing me into Doyle. The robot then picked up a table, dropped whatever was on it off of it, and threw it at the ceiling.

A satchel had fallen off the table and Doyle was frantic to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Oh, I would've loved to see your reaction if you didn't catch that," Raylee said.

The robot jumped up onto the floor above.

"Ok, what have you been doing in here?" I asked Doyle.

"Why did that thing look like Fiskerton?" he asked, ignoring my question.

"Well, if you were with us instead of in here doing whatever it is you were doing with my mom, then you'd know why that robot looks a hell of a lot like Fiskerton," Sarah said, which was a bit harsh.

"Sarah," Raylee said. "Calm down."

"She's just like you, Raylee," Amber said.

"I know, but it's hard to deny it when it's in your genes."

Sarah took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm just so frustrated right now."

"It's ok."

"Doyle, seriously, what's going on?" I asked.

He really needed to shave.

"Trust me, miniman," he said. "Whatever I'm doing it's for your own protection."

I groaned. "Why does everyone suddenly think I need protection?"

"Suddenly?" Sarah asked. "Zak, it's been that way since I've pretty much met you."

Then a realization hit me.

"Wait." I ran to the door, then stopped. "Take over with the robot. There's something I need to do."

"I'm coming with you," Sarah said.

I nodded and we both ran out of the room together.

* * *

We ran back to Fisk. The door was closed and he was still moving around in pain.

"I know what you're doing, Fisk," I said. "The brain feedback. You're trying to keep me out to protect me, but this isn't just your fight. Let me help."

I grabbed the claw.

"Zak," Sarah said, sounding concerned.

"No," I said. "I have to do this."

She nodded in understanding, then gave me a kiss. "For good luck."

I smiled.

I focused back on Fiskerton and activated me powers. He lashed out at me again and it hurt so much that I screamed in pain. So did he. But I wasn't going to let go this time. I fought back to stay and help him win.

"You can't keep me out of your brain, Fisk," I told him. "I'm coming in there whether you like it or not."

I fought back with all my strength and I was suddenly transported inside his brain. It looked really weird.

"Whoa," I said. "This is new." Then I heard a grunt. "Fisk?"

I looked ahead of me and saw him wrestling with an oversized neural parasite.

"Fisk!"

He made a gesture toward me, telling me to go away.

"No. This time, I'm protecting you."

I slingshot the claw onto the parasite's tail and pulled myself onto its back.

I held it down. "Now, Fisk! Take him out."

He punched it right in the center and it disappeared into a little cloud of smoke.

"Yeah!" I cheered.

Then Fiskerton looked like he was staring off into space.

I waved my hand in front of his face. "Fisk, hey. I'm right here. It's Zak. We won. You can turn off the brain robots and wake up. Fisk, please, listen. You're destroying our home."

He mumbled a few things, but I couldn't understand.

"What—"

Then a beam suddenly hit me as fast as the speed of light and I woke up.

"Zak, are you alright?" Sarah asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Fisk, what are you doing?"

The door opened and he walked out.

"Fisk, you're ok."

He walked past us like he was still in a trance and he didn't hear me.

"Ok," Sarah said. "I guess we should follow him."

So that's what we did.

* * *

We followed him outside, where the rest of our families were and our house was in pieces.

"Mom! Dad!" I called.

"Zak, where did you—" Mom faltered when Fisk walked up to a big, tall, version of the shape he made earlier.

It started to glow.

"Fiskerton?" Mom asked.

He looked dazed.

Then pieces of our house molded together into a ball and floated in the middle of the shape.

"Dad, what's going on?" I asked.

"It's . . . a divining rod," he replied.

"Oh," Sarah said. "When I first saw it, I thought it was a trident."

"What?" I asked Dad.

"That shape," Dad continued. "Fiskerton's Lemurian instincts. He's been trying to make a divining rod, a compass, a guide to where Kur will be revealed."

"Never underestimate the subconscious," Dr. Bara said.

Fiskerton pointed to the bottom of the floating ball, which I now realized was a globe.

"Antarctica?" I asked.

"Makes sense," Raylee said.

Mom took a picture of it. "Got it."

The globe fell back into pieces and the divining rod stopped glowing. Fisk looked fully awake now.

I ran to him and gave him a hug. "Fisk, you did it! You found Kur, and it was awesome! Come on. Build something else with your brain."

He was confused by what I was saying.

Dad summoned the airship to us. "At least the remote pilot control still works. Not much else does."

Fisk looked guilty.

"It's ok, Fiskerton," Mom assured him. "If it means finding and stopping Kur, it's worth it."

"David?" Doc asked.

"I'll find a way out," he said. "You go save all of us."

"Doyle, come on," I said. "This is it."

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna take my own jet. Met you there, cool?"

"Zak," Dad called. "Let's go."

"Good luck, guys," Raylee said. "You're gonna need it."

I was confused. "Wait. You're not coming?"

She shook her head. "I wish we could, but we can't."

"Why?"

She looked confused, then looked at Sarah. "You still haven't told him?"

"We kept getting interrupted," she replied.

"Well, we have to go."

"I know." Sarah looked at me with a sad look on her face. "Zak, we—I—" She sighed. "Let's go somewhere private."

She took my hand and lead me into a room on the airship.

"Sarah, why do you have to leave?" I asked.

"Because school is going to start in a few days, and me and Zack are completely unprepared for it," she replied. "So we have to go home and, well, be prepared for the new school year."

"But we finally found Kur, and we couldn't have without you and your family. You have to come."

"I wish I could, but I can't. I—" She sighed again and held my hands. "You made this the best summer of my life, minus the little heartache we had."

"You also made this the best summer of my life," I said.

Sarah leaned in and kissed me. "I—" She hesitated. "I—I'll miss you."

"So will I," I replied.

She hugged me. "Good luck with Kur."

"Thanks. And good luck with your music. And your dad. I know you're going to be a big star."

She laughed. "Well, I don't know if I'll be a big star, but thanks for the encouragement."

"You're welcome."

"Well, bye." She sounded a little heartbroken, but so was I.

"Bye."

We heard a small laugh. At the door, the little girl that only me and Sarah could see was waving at us.

Sarah waved back. "Bye, whatever-your-name-is."

The little girl laughed and ran out of room, disappearing again.

"Even though I don't really know her, I'll miss her," Sarah said, then gave me one last kiss. "Call me as soon as you're done saving the whole entire planet."

"I will."

We held hands as we walked back to rejoin our families.

Little did I know, that would be the last kiss I would get from her for a long time.

* * *

My family and I waved the Hollingers goodbye and set off to Antarctica.

Let's hope everything goes well. But if it doesn't, we could be living in a world of darkness.

* * *

 **Alright. This will be the last episode chapter for a while. I didn't write the next episode because what was the point if the Hollingers weren't there? It would just be the exact same as the episode, even though I know not much was different in the other episode chapters, but there was still some differences. Anyway, the next chapters are going to have some more drama in it, but I don't believe they're going to be that long.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	38. After Kur's Rising

**Sarah's POV**

I sat up on my bed breathing hard from the nightmare I just had. "Zak."

I grabbed my phone off of my nightstand and video phoned him. I waited a little while, but he didn't answer, and since it was a video call, I couldn't leave him a message.

I've been trying to call him for the past two days, but he hasn't been answering or returning any of my calls. I think part of the reason for that is something that I saw in the nightmare that I've been having for the past two nights, but I really hope that that wasn't the reason.

Then my alarm went off.

6:15am. Time to get ready for the first day of the new school year. So I got out of bed and got dressed. I put on my purple track suit with matching purple tennis shoes.

For the past few years, I've only worn track suits to school. They're so comfortable and easy to put on and take off. I have a lot of them, ten different colors to be exact, and take turns wearing each one with every passing day. I also really like to wear clothes that match in color along with shoes and socks. (I get it from my mom.)

I grabbed my purple backpack and left my room to get some breakfast. Zack and Mom were in the kitchen when I entered it.

"'Morning," Mom said.

"Good morning," I replied. "And good morning to you, Zack."

"Yeah, yeah, good morning," he said.

I laughed.

I grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat down next to him on the island.

"You guys excited about going back to school?" Mom asked.

"No," Zack and I said in unison.

She smiled. "Didn't think so, but you'll survive."

"Yeah, especially now that I have my powers," I said.

"That's the spirit."

Zack and I finished our breakfast, then we shouldered our backpacks.

"We're going to go now, Mom," I said.

"Ok," she replied. "Try to have fun and learn something."

"We will," Zack said. "Bye."

We left our house and went to the school bus stop, meeting Selena there.

"Hi, guys," she greeted us.

"Hey, Selena," we greeted back.

Zack gave her a kiss.

"Another year of hell is about to begin," she said.

"You're right," I agreed. "Along with crap."

The three of us laughed.

The school bus arrived a few minutes later. We got on it and sat together in the back. After arriving at school, we got off of the bus and went to our lockers then to our classes.

All three of us have the same classes together. The teachers were all the same, welcoming us all back and also welcoming some new students this year.

I'm an A+ student, my favorite subject would have to be Math, mostly because it's the one subject my mom can actually help me with. Though, she does try with all the other subjects, except English, her worst subject of all.

After all our morning classes were done with, we went to the cafeteria for lunch. We sat at our usual table along with the rest of our friends: Jason, Jessica, Mark, Michael, and Demi.

Jessica and Demi are total girls. They're so dramatic about everything. Selena and I know them because we're on the same cheerleading squad together.

Yeah, that's right.

I'm a cheerleader.

Yeah, that's right. I'm a cheerleader. And Selena's the head cheerleader. Why am I not? Because she's a better dancer than I am, and I learn from her.

The boys, Jason, Michael, and Mark were on the basketball team with Zack.

"Sarah!" Jessica and Demi screamed. "Tell us about your boyfriend."

I smiled. "Hey, guys. Nice seeing you again after not speaking to each other for weeks."

"We forgive you," Jessica said. "Now tell us about your boyfriend."

"Can't wait until after school?" Michael asked.

"Yeah," Mark agreed. "Your conversations about guys last forever and are annoying."

"You're annoying," Jessica and Demi said.

Oh, and they're also sisters. Just a year apart from each other, but they're in the same grade on purpose.

"So what's your boyfriend's name again, Sarah?" Jessica asked.

"Zak Saturday," I replied.

"You're dating someone who has the same name as your brother?" Demi asked. "Eww."

"It's just a name. And that reminds me: hold on."

I grabbed my phone and video phoned him again, but he still didn't answer.

I sighed.

"Still not answering?" Zack asked.

I shook my head. "No."

"He's probably really busy."

"Yeah. Probably."

"So what does he do, again?" Jason asked.

I explained it to him and the others about cryptids and all of that stuff, but when I was done, they all looked confused.

I sighed. My friends aren't idiots, but they're not that smart either.

"Never mind," I said. "You guys are never going to get it."

"That doesn't mean we can't try to," Mark said.

Well, I can't hate him for the effort.

The school bell rang and we headed back to our classes. After school ended for the day, Zack and I went home. Selena joined us.

"Hey, guys," Mom said once we entered our house. "How was school?"

"Fine," I replied.

"Any homework?"

"A little, but I think we can handle it."

"Ok."

I tried calling Zak again for the third time today, but he still wasn't answering. I was worried about him.

"Umm, I'm going to go down to the music room," I said.

"Ok," Mom said.

I went off.

I guess I should tell you about my house and where I live.

Well, our family lives in Parkville, Missouri. We live in a small neighborhood, have a big backyard with an in-ground pool, trampoline, and swing set. We also live behind a field. Deer live back there along with wolves. Yeah, you heard me right: wolves. But they don't come out very often.

There was a big park across the street from our house, which is like a second back yard, and we hang out there all the time. And the Missouri River is just a few hundred yards away.

Yeah, it's a pretty cool place to live. The only downside about it was the train, but Mom made our house soundproof to it.

Now, back on our house.

On the outside, it looks like a regular family-size house. But, on the inside, it was literally like a mansion, thanks to our powers. Every room was twice the size it use to be. Mom, Zack, and Emily's rooms were the size of a master bedroom. We even have a lot of guest bedrooms. Mom and Dad's bedroom was the biggest. And the best thing of all, every bedroom has there own bathroom, so no sharing with someone else necessary.

We have the other typical rooms like the living room, family room, kitchen, and basement, and they're big. But we also have a kind of secret ground floor.

It has all kinds of rooms down there, which was where most of the guest bedrooms were. There's a video game room; a theater room; a roller rink that changes with the season from roller blading to ice skating, but we can change it to either during any time of the year; and there's also a combat room or arena where you can learn how to use any kind of weapon you want, like a sword, and practice with dummies or with your friends.

That's my second favorite room down there. My first favorite was the music room, which was where I'm heading now.

We only have a few instruments in there, like a piano, drums, and a couple guitars and electric guitars. One of the longest walls was a mirror, like in a dance studio, which this room can also be and sometimes is because Selena loves to dance. So do I, but I love to sing more.

Speaking of which . . .

I walked over to my piano, opened the bench lid, grabbed my sheet music out, and looked over it.

Zak wants me to conquer my stage fright so that I can have my dreams of becoming a professional singer. He even helped me to try a little trick and it worked.

At least, with him. But what about a whole crowd? That makes me feel even more nervous. But I have to try, for Zak, but he would want me to do it for myself. I can do it for both of us.

Actually, I will do it for both of us. Now all I have to do is practice.

I summoned my Poké balls and let out all of my Pokémon out. I always let them listen to me sing.

"Ok, guys," I told them. "You all know that I want to become a singer. And I've decided that it's now or never, and I need your guys help, ok?"

They all nodded in agreement.

"Ok. Then let's try."

I picked a song from my music sheets and placed it on my piano. Then I sat on the bench and began to play and sing it.

I wrote the song a couple years ago when my Charizard was having a hard time flying after he had evolved. This song motivated him:

Watch all the flowers  
Dance with the wind  
Listen to snowflakes  
Whisper your name  
Feel all the wonder  
Lifting your dreams  
You can fly  
(Fly)

Fly to who you are  
Climb upon your star  
You believe you'll find your wings  
Fly  
To your heart

Touch every rainbow  
Painting the sky  
Look at the magic  
Glide through your life  
A sprinkle of pixie dust circles the night  
You can fly

Fly to who you are  
Climb upon your star  
You believe you'll find your wings  
Fly

Everywhere you go  
Your soul will find a home  
You'll be free to spread your wings  
Fly  
You can fly  
To your heart  
(Fly, fly)

Rise to the heights of all you can be  
(Fly, Fly)  
Soar on the hope of marvelous things

Fly to who you are  
Climb upon your star  
You believe you'll find your wings  
Fly

Everywhere you go  
Your soul will find a home  
You'll be free to spread your wings  
Fly  
You can fly  
To your heart

When I finished the song, I came to a conclusion: I'm going to ask my mom and dad (mostly just my mom) if I can become a singer. Dad might not like it, but I know Mom will. She's always supported me, especially when it comes to music. And I've already written a few songs.

Zack and Selena also help with the music for those songs, and I'm pretty sure our other friends would help too. I'm gonna need them.

Now let's just hope that someone else, preferably a music producer, will love my songs and my voice just as much as my family and friends do.

* * *

 **Quiz time!**

 _What is the name of the song that Sarah sang and who sings it?_

 **I'll do these kind of quizzes each time there's a new song sung.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	39. This is Real

**Sarah's POV**

It was dinner time. Our whole family was gathered in the dining room. We got our food on our plates and began eating.

"Mom, Dad, I was wondering if I could ask you something," I said.

"Of course, Sarah," Mom said. "What is it?"

"Well, you all know how much I love music, right?"

"Oh, yes," Dad said. "We hear you listening to music every day as loud as it can be."

"So do I," Mom said.

"I know."

"Well, anyway," I said. "I was wondering if I could try to become a singer? You know, like, meet with a music producer and see whether or not he'll give me a record deal?"

"No," Dad said immediately.

"Cj," Mom said.

"No, Raylee. I'm not going to have my daughter expose herself like that as young as she is."

"Well, may I remind you, she's not just your daughter."

"Unfortunately, no, she isn't."

Mom rolled her eyes and turned back to me. "Sarah, as much as I would like to see you have your dream at becoming a singer, you have stage fright. I wouldn't want you to embarrass yourself if you're too afraid to sing."

"I know, Mom," I said. "But I'm working on it. Zak taught me a way to—"

"Oh," Dad interrupted. "Zak's helping you."

"Cj, shut up, before I make you," Mom said. "Continue, Sarah."

"Zak taught me a way to be able to handle my stage fright."

"And does it work?"

"It did with him."

"Ok. But what about anybody else?"

I hesitated. "Umm . . . I haven't really tried with anybody else."

Mom sighed. "Sarah, you need to try in front of a whole crowd first, ok? Prove to me that you can handle it."

"Ok. But what crowd?"

"Selena told me that our school is having a talent show in a couple weeks," Zack said. "You can sign up for that."

I thought about it for a moment. "Ok. I guess I could try that."

"Can't you wait until you're much older?" Dad asked. "You're just too young right now."

"Cj," Mom said.

"Dad, I feel like my only chance is now or never," I said. "And I'm trying this now."

"It's not that I don't want you to follow your dreams, Sarah," he said. "But with a dream like that, a lot of girls your age who have that end up losing it all before they're twenty."

"I won't be one of them, Dad. I promise."

Mom smiled. "That's the spirit. But, Sarah, you don't have to win the contest, you just need to be able to sing in front of a lot of people."

"I know, Mom. And thanks."

Dad sighed and stood up from the table. "Well, then, good luck."

He walked over to his liquor cabinet, grabbed out a couple bottles of whiskey, and left the room.

Mom sighed.

"Did Nick ever drink?" I asked.

"Very rarely after he met me," she replied. "But when he did drink, he was actually much more dangerous than your father is. Mostly because he was an Immortal."

I looked over at Emily sitting in her high chair, enjoying her food.

"You'd think he'd learn something for what he did," I said.

"He did," Mom said. "Only to never drive drunk, especially with his kids in the car with him. That's just the best thing I could hope for right now. But he needs to stop drinking all together. Do you think you can write a song for him to stop?"

"I'll work on one."

"Let's hope it works," Zack said.

"Yeah."

* * *

The next day, Selena showed me the sign-up sheet for the talent contest.

"Here you go," she said. "Now all you have to do is fill out your information."

"Thanks, Selena," I said.

"You're welcome."

I looked over the names of who had already signed up and stopped when I saw one name.

"Oh," I said. "You—"

"It's ok, Sarah," Selena said. "I've already done this before. Now it's your turn."

"I don't want to compete against my best friend."

"Neither do I. But I can sign myself out—"

"No, don't do that. If I have to lose to anyone, I'd much rather it be you than anyone else."

She smiled. "I feel the same way."

I grabbed the pen and began signing my name.

"Oh, look at that," a girl's voice said. "Looks like Sarah's signing herself up for the talent show. Do you even have any talent, Sarah?"

I gritted my teeth and turned to face her. "I have more talent than you, Wendy."

"We'll see about that."

She and her posy walked past us, but not before sneering at me.

Wendy. She was the most stupidest bitch in the whole school. She wears way too much makeup; clothes that show way too much skin, causing most of the boys to fall head-over-heels for her, but they're all perverts anyway.

I've always hated her. She picks on me the most, but I can handle it. But the worst thing of all? She's my dad's boss's daughter, and he's an asshole too. Sometimes we have to go to their house for special dinners and I really hate it. So does my mom and Zack.

But we're also on the same cheerleading squad.

I know, I know. Selena's the head cheerleader, so why is the person we hate the most on the team with us? Well, because as much of a bitch as she is, she's good at cheering, and it wouldn't be fair not to have her on the team just because we hate her, though my friends disagree. I kind of do too, but I convinced Selena to let her stay on team. But believe me, if Selena wasn't the head cheerleader and she was, neither me nor my friends would be on the squad at all.

"She's such a bitch," I said.

"I know," Selena agreed. "And she signed up for the talent show contest."

"She always does."

"With a different talent every year. And look at what she's doing."

I looked at her talent on the sign-up sheet: singing.

"Shit," I cursed.

"I know," Selena said. "You're a better singer than she is, Sarah. And you're going to prove it."

"You're damn right I will."

I signed my name and talent and put the sheet back.

I think I'm more confident about this than I was yesterday. I guess competition really does get your adrenaline pumping.

It's on now.

* * *

 **Yeah, short chapter.**

 **Anyway, no one guessed my last quiz, but the answer to it was:** _Fly to your Heart, by Selena Gomez._

 **I will have the song posted on my wiki if you want to listen to it.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	40. This is Me

**Sarah's POV**

A couple weeks past slowly, but the day of the talent contest finally came. I thought it never would. I've been practicing for it everyday after school and, hopefully, it was enough. Well, now's the time to find out if it was all worth it.

I put on my favorite purple dress for luck and I waited back stage until my name was called. My family and friends gave me some last minute good lucks and advice.

"You'll do great, Sarah," Zack said. "Oh, and you too, Selena."

She and I laughed. "Thanks."

"Remember, it's not about winning," Mom said. She was carrying Emily. "It's about showing your talent. And if you lose, either of you, accept it with honor."

"Thanks, Mom," I said.

Then I heard my name being called. My turn.

I looked at Selena.

"Good luck," she told me.

"Selena, now I know you know that you're not suppose to say those words in this kind of situation," I said.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Break a leg."

She gave me a hug and I hugged her back.

"Thanks. You too. But not literally."

She laughed. "I know. Now go."

I pulled away and walked onto the stage.

Wendy sneered at me as I walked by her. It took all of my willpower not to do anything back at her.

I approached the judges, bowed at them, then I sat down at the piano. The pressure was really on now.

I placed my fingers on the keys and began to play. I closed my eyes, imagined that no one else was here but me and my music.

I began singing:

I've always been the kind of girl  
That hid my face  
So afraid to tell the world  
What I've got to say  
But I have this dream  
Right inside of me  
I'm gonna let it show  
It's time to let you know

This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let the light shine on me  
Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me, yeah  
Yeah.

Do you know what it's like  
To feel so in the dark  
To dream about a life  
Where you're the shining star  
Even though it seems  
Like it's too far away  
I have to believe in myself  
It's the only way

This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let the light shine on me  
Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me

You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you  
You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you

This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let the light shine on me, yeah  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me  
This is me

Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me

When I finished the song, I was breathless. The whole crowd and the judges were all on their feet and applauding me.

I could hardly believe that this was real and not a dream. I stood up from the piano, bowed, and walked back stage. My family and friends were all cheering, even Dad and Emily.

"That was incredible, Sarah," Mom said.

"There's nothing my twin sister can't do," Zack said.

"I'm so proud of you," Dad said.

Selena hugged me. "You did it. Now, unfortunately, it's my turn to do it."

I laughed. "Thanks everybody. I couldn't have done it with out all of your support.

* * *

Everybody had finished their talents and now it was time to declare the top three winners. Selena got the third place trophy. Wendy got second (though she should've gotten last).

Now it was time to announce the winner.

"Now without further a dew," the head judge said. "This year's talent contestant first place winner is . . ." Drum roll. "Sarah Hollinger!"

I thought I imagined my name being called, but it really was called. I walked up to the judges, accepted my trophy, and shook all of their hands.

"You have a beautiful voice," one of them said.

"Thank you," I said.

I walked back to where I was standing before on the stage.

* * *

We all were standing outside of the school.

"So, Mom," I said. "Did that prove to you that I am stage-fright-free, now?"

"Yes," she replied with a smile.

"So can we go meet with a music producer now?"

"Sure. How about right now?"

I was confused. "Really?"

Then I heard someone clapping. I looked in the direction of where it was coming from and saw a man dressed in a suit. He was walking our way.

"What I'd tell ya?" Mom asked him.

"I'll admit, I'm very impressed," he replied, then turned toward me. "Hello, Sarah."

"Umm, hi," I said. "Not to be rude or anything, but who are you?"

"Sarah, this is Edward Price," Mom said. "He is a music producer that I asked to come hear you sing tonight."

"Thanks for the warning," I said sarcastically.

"If I had told you that he was here, it would've made you more nervous."

I shrugged. "Good point."

"So, Edward. Are you going to consider Sarah for a record deal?"

"Hmm . . ." he mused. "Did you write that song all by yourself?"

I nodded. "Yes. Lyrics and music."

"Fascinating. You really have an unbelievable talent for someone your age."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"And for that, I'd really like to work with you."

"Really?"

"Really, really. Talent like yours deserves to be heard. Here's my card." He handed it to me. "I'd like you in my recording studio as soon as possible, say, Monday?"

"Sure," I said, taking the card.

"Actually, Edward," Mom said. "If it's alright, we have our own recording studio to work in."

"We do?"

She nodded.

"Alright, then," Edward said. "Bring me a demo of that song and I'll make you a star."

"Ok. Done," I said. "I'll see you Monday."

"You too. Now, can you send me back, Raylee?"

Mom flicked her hand and he disappeared.

"Mom, thanks for bringing him here," I said.

"You're very welcome," she replied.

"Now, about that recording studio you mentioned?"

She smiled.

* * *

Back at our house, down in the music room, Mom led me to the end of it and then she used her powers and a door appeared. She gestured for me to open it.

I did and walked inside.

It definitely was a recording studio. It looked just like the ones I've seen on TV sometimes.

"Wow, Mom," I said. "This is incredible. Thank you."

"You're very welcome," she replied. "I made it when you first told me you wanted to be a singer, and I saved it for a day like this. Now let's go get some sleep and you can get to work tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok."

"Congrats, Sarah," Zack said. "I knew you could do it."

"Same here," Selena said.

"Thanks, guys," I said.

I appreciated all the compliments and the congrats, but something didn't feel right to me. Like I shouldn't be the only one receiving all of this. Something felt missing. Or someone. And I knew who.

The one person that helped make this all happen for me the most:

Zak.

* * *

 **Yeah, another short chapter, but wasn't what Raylee did for Sarah cute?**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	41. I Know What Happened and Maybe Even How

**Sarah's POV**

The next day, just before I got into the studio to record my song, I tried calling Zak, but he still didn't answer. I had a bad feeling that the nightmare's I've been having for the past couple weeks were true.

I was in the studio and Mom was helping me.

"Do you know how to use any of these buttons?" I asked her.

"Of course I don't," she replied. "That's what our powers are for. But I'll learn on my own eventually."

"I'm sure you will."

I tested it a few times before officially recording the song, wrote the title on the CD, and placed it in its case.

"Well, I guess we're ready for Monday," Mom said.

"Yeah," I agreed without much enthusiasm.

"What's wrong, Sarah?"

"Nothing. It's just— Mom, Zak hasn't called me at all and I'm really worried about him. I've been having these nightmares and they're practically telling me what happened, but I don't know if they're right."

"Have you told anyone else about these nightmares?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Then, before we continue, how about we bring everyone else in here, ok?"

"Ok."

Mom walked over to the intercom on the wall and pressed the button. "Everybody, please came down to the music room. Sarah needs to talk to us all."

We have intercoms and also cameras all over the house. It's just an easy way to let someone know you're looking for them since it's such a huge house, especially if you're playing hide-and-seek. Unless you have access to all of the cameras, and depending on how many people are playing, you're bound to only find a fraction of them.

Zack and the animals came into the music room and we sat around a table in the corner of the room.

"So what's going on?" Zack asked.

Everyone looked at me.

I took a deep breath. "I've been having nightmares about Zak since the last time we saw him, and I think . . . he's Kur now."

"Your nightmares showed you that?" Mom asked.

I nodded. "Yes."

"But how could he become Kur and why?" Kika asked.

"I don't think he wanted that to happen to him, it just did."

"How?" Toto asked.

"I'm not sure, exactly," I said. "He and his family were fighting Argost and Kur and there were a lot of cryptids there. Then Argost got inside Kur and got in control of him and Zak and Fiskerton went inside to stop him. He had his powers activated and there was a burst of energy from him that went through all of the cryptids and he was in control of them all."

"Wow," Mom said.

"I know," I continued. "The cryptids went inside Kur and took care of Argost. But he and Munya got away. After Zak and Fiskerton reunited with his family, and they were congratulating him, Doyle had that naga relic with him. Remember it?"

They nodded.

"How'd he get that?" Zack asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

The animals were all looking at Mom and she was blushing.

"Mom?" I asked. "Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

"No," she said, but her smile betrayed her.

"Mom," Zack insisted.

"Oh, fine. When Fiskerton threw that relic outside the airship, Doyle went to retrieve it. I knew he would, but I kept it a secret for him and helped him repair it."

"That's not the only thing you did with him," Kimbia said.

Mom was blushing even more. "Shut up, Kimbia."

"What else did you do with him?" Zack asked.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. Let's just focus back on Zak, please."

I didn't want to, but I knew better than to argue. "Well, that naga relic glows when its near Kur. And when Zak came out of Kur—"

"It was glowing in his presence," Zack finished.

"Yes."

"But that still doesn't explain how he became Kur," Chewie said.

"Well, at the moment when that burst of energy came from Zak, that was probably when he became Kur. But how? Well, the only logical explanation that I can think of is this: when the alpha male in a wolf pack is challenged by another male wolf, the two of them fight. If the male wolf beats the alpha male, that wolf becomes the new alpha. So, if Kur is the King of the Cryptids and Zak defeated him . . ."

"He became the new king," Zack finished. "Kur."

I nodded. "Yes."

"Very well put, Sarah," Mom said.

"Thank you."

"But what happened after Zak became Kur?" Amber asked.

"Well, the Saturdays agreed not to tell anyone for a while," I said. "Not the Secret Scientists, and not us."

"Why not us?" Zack asked.

"Well, Doc and Drew left it up to Zak on whether or not to tell us, and he said no."

"Why?"

I shook my head. "I don't know."

"After all we did for them, they're not going to tell us?" Mom asked. "That's bullshit."

"I know, Mom. But it's just for a while. But that's not going to keep me from looking for him."

Everyone stared at me. "What?"

"I want to look for him," I said. "If he really is Kur, I want to help him. And me getting this recording deal was mostly thanks to him. I want to share it with him."

"But, Sarah, you can't pass this up," Mom said.

"I'm not. I'll do both."

"And school?"

"It'll be tough, but I can handle it."

"Well, the homework you get is tough, but you can have your powers do all the work for you if you'd like. You can too, Zack. Just don't tell your dad."

We laughed. "We won't."

"But my number one priority is looking for Zak, Mom," I said. "If my music gets in the way, I'll stop it until I find him."

She sighed. "Edward's not going to like that, but I'm sure he'll understand."

"He better."

"And I'm pretty sure we'll all help you find Zak. Right, guys?"

"Of course," Zack replied. "Anything you do, I do with you."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Same goes for us," Shillow said.

The other cheetahs nodded in agreement.

"Thank you all," I said. "Now let's go find the Saturdays."

* * *

 **Ok. Well, that was my theory on how Zak became Kur. After I wrote this story, I read that Zak was Kur the whole time, from when Drew was pregnant with him when they dug up the Kur Stone, but I don't believe that. I mean, in Shadows of Lemuria, when Zak and Zon were thrown into Doyle's room with the relic, the relic didn't glow. So if he's been Kur since he was born, why didn't glow then _before_ they fought who I think was the original Kur in Antarctica? I think the theory about them fighting for dominance makes sense. What do you think?**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	42. The Search for Zak Doesn't End Well

**Sarah's POV**

I decided that we should go to Antarctica first to find out if it was really true that Zak was Kur. Thanks to our powers, we were able to find the exact spot of where the Saturdays were. But even though there was snow all over the place, I couldn't find any of their tracks. I guess a snowstorm blew in not long after they left and made them disappear.

"They were definitely here," I said.

"How can you tell?" Zack asked.

"I can feel it."

"Ok . . ."

The Saturdays were here, so that means that it was true.

Zak's Kur.

"Let's go," I said.

"Where?" Kika asked.

"To the Saturday's home, of course."

* * *

When we got there, the house was still destroyed from those Fiskerton robots on the last day we were here.

"They obviously haven't and won't be here anytime soon," I said. "So we should just start looking somewhere else."

"Did they say where they were going in your dream, Sarah?" Mom asked.

I shook my head. "No. But can't you find them the same way you find criminals?"

"Only if they're in the U.S. And are they, Jed?"

"Nowhere in sight, Raylee," he replied from the watch on Mom's wrist. "Sorry."

"In my dream, Zak said that he wanted to avoid America as much as possible because he knows that you can find them easily," I said. "So we're probably not going to find them in either Canada or Mexico. But can't you search in other countries like you do in the U.S.?"

"It's much harder in different countries, Sarah," Mom said. "I don't know anything about them."

"What about our powers? They know everything, right?"

"Yes. And they probably know where the Saturdays are now, but I doubt they'll tell us."

 _She's right_ , my powers replied in my head.

I sighed. "We can still look for them, just not in the U.S. I know the planet's big, but I highly doubt that there's anyone else who has a giant orange airship."

"You're probably right," Mom said. "But can we wait to continue tomorrow?"

"Why?"

"Because it's late, Sarah. Your dad will be home from work soon, and I don't want to leave Emily with Britney any longer and—"

"Raylee," Jed interrupted.

Mom sighed. "And I am still the Protector of America. If some crime happens, I have to go."

I sighed. "Fine."

So we went home for the night. Well, Zack and I did. Mom and the animals went to deal with a criminal, but they were back a little while later.

* * *

I had another dream about Zak later that night. He and his family were trying to deal with a cryptid. Zak looked distraught, though, and I didn't know why.

Eventually, one of them said where they were, so the next day, my family and I went to that place. I could tell that they were there, but they weren't anymore.

"Damnit," I cursed.

"You sure that this is where they were in your dream, Sarah?" Zack asked.

"Yes."

"They were here," Shillow confirmed. "Their scent is here."

"Do you think you can follow it?" I asked.

She sniffed the ground and lifted her head up. "No. Sorry."

"It's ok. Let's continue searching for them."

And we did. But it was nowhere near as easy to find them as I originally thought it would be.

I kept having dreams that showed me where they were, but when I go to that place after I wake up, they're already gone.

One month passed and still no sign of them or Zak even calling me. Another month passed, and by that time, the Secret Scientists now knew about Zak being Kur, but it didn't go well. Now they're chasing the Saturdays to capture Zak and do who-knows-what to him, which is making them run even sooner than later, making it harder for us to find them.

But, I've gotta admit, I'm jealous at how the Secret Scientists are able to find them, but we're not. Why was that?

Two more months passed. By this time, I was less worried and more pissed. How could Zak do this to me and why? I was probably going to get my answer after I woke up.

In my dream, the Secret Scientists had managed to capture Zak and took him away from his family. They tried to save him, but the Secret Scientists were just a little too good, which was surprising and sad. Zak tried fighting back to get free, but it was no use. They put Zak in an acrylic freezer and that was the end of my dream.

I woke with a start.

"Zak," I cried out.

I looked at my clock. 6:00am.

I would have to get ready for school soon, but I couldn't let Zak be hurt any longer by the Secret Scientists. So I got dressed and got Kika and Honey. I told them what happened as quickly as I could.

"Sarah, we should wake the others," Kika said.

"I know," I said. "But there's no time. We have to go now. So are you with me or not?"

They sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Then let's go."

* * *

Ironically, it didn't take us very long to find where the Secret Scientists were keeping Zak. The only problem was: they were guarding him.

Actually, it wasn't really a problem at all. Kika and Honey have had plenty of experience with this being with my mom for so many years and helping her.

They attacked them, baring their teeth and claws, and distracting them. I got into the room where Zak was being held frozen against his will. I managed to break him out of it. He was unconscious.

I dragged him out, Kika and Honey guarding us. When we finally got outside of the building, we hid in the woods and Honey were lookouts while I tried to wake up Zak. It took a little while. No matter how hard I smacked or hit him, he just wouldn't wake up.

Finally, I decided to shock him and it worked.

"Zak?" I asked, concerned.

He opened his eyes slowly. They widened when he saw me. "Sarah?"

I smiled down at him. "Hi, Zak."

He definitely did feel stronger. With my powers, I could actually feel someone's own power strength if they're not a mortal. And Zak's felt twice as strong since the last time I saw him.

"Are you ok?" I asked him.

"Uh, yeah," he replied. He stood up quickly and backed away. "What are you doing here, Sarah?"

"Uh, saving you. What does it look like I'm doing?"

He was hesitant. "Thanks for saving me. Now I've gotta go before they capture me again."

"Zak, wait. Why do you keep running from me? What happened to you?"

I already knew the answer to that question, I just wanted to see if he would admit it to me or not.

"Sarah, I can't tell you," he said. "It's too dangerous."

"I don't care, Zak," I said. "Whatever it is, I want to help you."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I—"

He was interrupted when his family's airship descended from the air about fifty feet away.

"I have to go, Sarah."

"No," I said. "Not until you tell me—"

He interrupted me with a kiss. "I'm sorry, Sarah."

He began walking away, but I grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Zak."

He turned to face me. Then he looked down at my sword. I could tell he was planning something, but I realized what it was too late.

He made eye contact with me.

Guilt was in his eyes.

"Forgive me," he said.

I didn't know what he meant until he unsheathed my sword and cut my wrist. I screamed in pain.

Zak dropped my sword and ran.

"Sarah!" Kika and Honey called.

They ran up to me. I was on my knees, clutching my wrist that was pouring out blood. It really hurt.

"Do you want us to chase him?" Honey asked.

I looked ahead and noticed Zak running up the platform of the airship and he disappeared. Then it took off.

"No," I said heartbrokenly with tears streaking down my face. "Let's just go home."

They licked my tears and wound for comfort. I liked it, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap that was now in my heart.

I picked up my sword and sheathed it, and teleported us home.

* * *

Mom was bandaging up my wound, but it was hard to since I kept jumping every time she touched it. Eventually, she just decided to make my arm numb so that I couldn't feel anything at all.

"Why does it hurt so much?" I asked.

"He must've hit a vein," Mom replied. "It really hurts when a vein is cut."

"You don't say."

"Are you ok?"

I shook my head. "No. I can't believe he did this to me."

"What are you going to do now? You still going to keep looking for him?"

"No. This was the last straw."

"So now what?"

"I'm going to focus on my music now. And you can probably tell that I have some songs to write after this."

"Oh, come on," Mom said. "Don't be like Taylor Swift."

"Who?" I asked.

"A very famous singer from when I was your age. All of her songs were about boys. Every single one of them, both love songs or break up songs. Though, some of them were good songs."

"Well, my songs aren't just going to be about boys, Mom," I said. "I've written other kinds of songs too."

"I know. But I'm sure Zak didn't mean to do that."

"But he did it. And, for some reason, he doesn't want me to be anywhere near him. But I don't care anymore."

Mom sighed. "Well, I'm done bandaging your wrist."

"Thanks."

She allowed myself to feel my arm again. After that, I went to the music room to write some new songs.

* * *

I wish my dreams would stop showing me where Zak was now. But, of course, they didn't.

Zak was in his room alone, guilt-stricken.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he said out loud, like he knew I could hear him. "Please, forgive me."

 _Not a chance._

* * *

 **Aww. Poor Sarah. All of that time wasted for nothing. What do you guys think is going to happen now? Something bad is going to happen next chapter.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	43. Give Your Heart a Break

**Sarah's POV**

It's been two days since I saw Zak. I've already written and got the music for a song involving that encounter. It's amazing how fast you can do something like that when you're sad, hurt, and mad.

But my wound hasn't healed yet for some reason. Mom told me that it was an Immortal thing, that when someone you cared about and trusted physically hurt you on purpose, the mark he leaves becomes a permanent scar until you make up with that person.

Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen with Zak.

It doesn't hurt or bother me anymore, but it's annoying.

My friends and family have been helping me through this. And I know he won't admit it, but I'm pretty sure that my dad's glad that I no longer have a boyfriend. But he's still drinking. I'm working on that.

"Hey, Sarah," Zack said. "What's up?"

"Just working on my music," I replied.

"Any new songs?"

"Uh, one. But I'm working on a few others."

"Can I hear that one?"

"Sure."

I went into the recording studio, placed a CD in, pressed a few buttons, went into the booth, put on my head phones, and began to sing:

The day I first met you  
You told me you'd never fall in love  
But now that I get you  
I know fear is what it really was

Now here we are,  
So close yet so far.  
Haven't I passed the test?  
When will you realize,  
Baby, I'm not like the rest?

Don't wanna break your heart  
Wanna give your heart a break  
I know you're scared it's wrong  
Like you might make a mistake  
There's just one life to live  
And there's no time to wait, to wait  
So let me give your heart a break, give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break  
Oh yeah, yeah

On Sunday you went home alone  
There were tears in your eyes  
I called your cell phone, with my love  
But you did not reply

The world is ours. If we want it,  
We can take it if you'll just take my hand.  
There's no turning back now.  
Baby, try to understand

Don't wanna break your heart  
Wanna give your heart a break  
I know you're scared it's wrong  
Like you might make a mistake  
There's just one life to live  
And there's no time to wait, to wait  
So let me give your heart a break, give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break  
There's just so much you can take  
Give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break  
Oh yeah, yeah

When your lips are on my lips  
Then our hearts beat as one  
But you slip out of my fingertips  
Every time you run, whoa-oh-whoa-oh-oh

Don't wanna break your heart  
Wanna give your heart a break  
I know you're scared it's wrong  
Like you might make a mistake  
There's just one life to live  
And there's no time to wait, to wait  
So let me give your heart a break

'Cause you've been hurt before  
I can see it in your eyes  
You try to smile away, some things you can't disguise  
Don't wanna break your heart  
Baby, I can ease the ache, the ache  
So let me give your heart a break, give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break  
There's just so much you can take  
Give your heart a break  
Let me give your heart a break, your heart a break  
Oh yeah, yeah

The day I first met you  
You told me you'd never fall in love

After I finished recording the song, I got Zack's comments on it.

"That was good," he said. "But kind of a more mature song for you."

"Are you saying I'm not mature?" I asked.

"No, you are. It's just, maybe a little too much of a song for you to be singing now. But it's good."

"Well, I'm not going to put it on my first album. I have a lot of other songs from the past couple years. But I might put it on my second."

"Oh, you're so positive that you're going to have a second album when the first one hasn't even been made?"

"Yet. And yes. I'm going to have to get some backup singers and I'm hoping that Selena, Jessica, and Demi will be those singers for me since they're my friends and I won't have to audition anyone."

"I'm sure they will. But do you know if they have good voices?"

"Good enough to be backup singers."

Zack laughed. "Ok. Will you need my help for anything?"

"Well, I will need you to play the guitar and drums sometimes if you can do that," I replied.

"Hey, anything for my twin sister."

"Yes, well, I will be playing some instruments myself, but I'm going to need more of a band. Do you think Jason, Michael, and Mark can play instruments, preferably, the guitar?"

"I think so. Yeah."

"Good. Having my friends and my twin brother be my band mates is a good thing, right?"

"I think so. But don't worry, Sarah. You'll do great."

"Thanks, Zack." I gave him a hug. "Now get out so I can work on more of my music."

He smiled. "Fine."

He left the room and I got back to work.

* * *

Another month passed and, by now, I had recorded my first official album. Twenty songs. The title was "This is Me", and the cover art was me wearing a beautiful dress and looking absolutely confident. There was also a pamphlet in it that has the lyrics to all of the songs. (My mom wanted that in it because she likes it when albums have those in them and so do I.)

It's supposed to be released in about a month. I've already heard the main title "This is Me" be played on the radio and got some nice feedback on it.

We celebrated with family and friends.

I wasn't really use to being the only center of attention. Usually, I share it with Zack for our birthday and a few other things, but it was nice. Though, I'll admit, a little nerve-racking, but I'll get used to it eventually.

I even got some attention at school. Mostly from boys (no surprise). Even some of the girls, except Wendy. She's been a bitch about it, saying I didn't deserve it, but I just ignore her.

With my powers, I'm still able to attend school, kind of like Mom being the Protector of America. My friends, twin brother, and I were all eating lunch together in the cafeteria, chatting about random things, as usual.

"Uh, I'll be right back," Zack said. "I think I left my phone in my locker."

"Umm, ok," I said. "Since when do you leave your phone in your locker?"

He shrugged. "I thought I had it with me, but I think I may have put it in there just to set it down and then I forgot it."

"Well, ok."

He stood up from his seat and walked off.

A little while later, the school bell rang and everybody went to their next class. But Zack never returned. Selena and I waited a few minutes for him. Then we went to our next class, thinking that he went there, but he wasn't, and he never showed up.

I was starting to get really worried.

"Something's wrong," Selena said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

We ran to Zack's locker since that's where he said he was going.

When we got there, we found his backpack lying on the ground.

I picked it up. "Something definitely happened to him."

"Yeah, but what?" Selena asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know. But whatever did happen to him it can't be anywhere near good."

* * *

 **So, what do you guys think happened to Zack? You probably won't like it.**

 **Anyway, quiz time! You probably already know what it is.**

 _What was the name of the song that Sarah sang, and who sings it?_

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	44. My Twin Brother Goes Missing

**Sarah's POV**

I grabbed out my phone and called my mom.

She answered. "Hello?"

"Mom, I need to come to the school right now," I said. "It's an emergency."

"What's wrong?"

"Zack's gone. I think something bad happened to him."

"I'm on my way."

She hung up the phone and appeared ten seconds later, carrying Emily, Pikachu on her shoulder, and the animals right behind her.

"Sarah," she said. "Tell me what happened."

I told her what I knew. When I was finished, she looked distraught. She looked around, up on the ceiling.

"What's going on here?" a man asked.

It was the principle. He was walking our way.

"Sir, I need to see your camera system," Mom told him.

"What for?" he asked.

"Something happened to my son and I'm hoping that the cameras caught something."

"Very well. Come with me. You girls go back to class."

"No," Selena and I both said.

"I'd like them to come with me," Mom said.

The principle didn't argue. "Follow me."

He took us to the security system and Mom gave me Emily while she looked over the cameras then replayed them.

The one in the hallway showed Zack going to his locker. He grabbed out his backpack and unzipped it, then the camera blacked out. It came back about a minute later and Zack was gone. Only his backpack was lying on the ground.

Mom stopped the tape. "Damnit."

"Don't you usually stop something like this before it happens?" I asked.

"Yes, but there are some conditions."

"Like what?"

"Like who's causing the crime: a mortal or an Immortal."

"Raylee, you don't think that it's connected to here, do you?" Amber asked.

"It's gotta be."

"What?" Selena asked.

Mom took a deep breath. "For the past half year, teenage boys have gone missing without a trace all over the country. I haven't been able to find any of them, which is something that has never happened to be before since I've been the Protector of America. And now my own son is gone, and I have no idea where he could be."

"But who could have taken him?" I asked.

"It's gotta be an Immortal, because I can't sense when one is doing any kind of crime in the country like I can with a mortal. Plus, all of these other cameras don't show anything out of the ordinary like in this one camera. There's no way a mortal could've done it without getting caught. And Zack can handle a mortal, but not an Immortal."

"Do you know any Immortals that are causing these crimes?" I asked.

Mom had a pained look on her face. "One. Well, actually, three. They're working together, but I really do hope that it's not them who took Zack and all those boys. And there's only one way to find out."

She walked out of the room. We followed her.

"Wait, Mom," I said. "Who are they?"

"I need to go talk to Nikki and Nicole," she said, ignoring my question. "You girls go to our house. Take Emily with you. I'll meet you there later."

"But, Mom—"

"Go. I'll tell you more later."

"Sarah, let's just go," Selena said.

I decided not to argue about it anymore.

Mom and the animals teleported away. So did me, Emily, and Selena.

* * *

When we got to my house, I put Emily in her crib. She didn't like that.

"Out," she said with her arms outstretched.

She's about a year old now and she was starting to talk. She knows my name as well as Zack's, and Mom and Dad. She's still working on the others.

"Whose Nikki and Nicole?" Selena asked me.

"Do you remember that one time you came to see us with the Saturdays last summer?" I asked.

"Yes."

"And do you remember those two women who helped us out of that jail cell?"

"Yes."

"That's them."

"Oh, right. They're your mothers old sisters-in-law, right?"

I nodded. "Yes."

I took Emily out of her crib and put her on the floor. She's also been walking. I helped her stand on her feet and walked her to the living room.

"I'm really worried about Zack," I said.

"Me too," Selena agreed. "What Immortals do you think your mom was talking about?"

I thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure. I feel like I know. It's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't think of any names."

"Well, then, I guess that all we have left to do is wait."

We didn't have to wait much longer. My mom and the animals appeared a few minutes later. But Mom had a distraught expression on her face.

"Mom, what is it?" I asked.

She sat down on the couch and told us the whole story. "Zack's in serious trouble. The Immortals that I suspected before kidnapped him."

"What Immortals?" I asked.

"That Immortal men that raped me."

My eyes widened. I now remember what my mom told me about them.  
"Oh my God," I said heartbrokenly.

"I know," Mom agreed. "Nikki and Nicole told me that they've been targeting young boys lately. But they're targeting them differently than when they target girls."

"How so?"

"Well, instead of raping them where they find them and then leave, they're abducting them, keeping them prisoners, and . . ." She faltered.

But she didn't need to say the rest. I understood it completely, though I wish I didn't. Tears began to streak down the both of our faces and Selena's.

"Nikki and Nicole also told me that those men eventually target their victims off-spring sometime in the future when they reach a certain age," Mom continued.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, I was their victim eighty years ago, and Zack's my son. They also targeted my two oldest daughters, your older half-sisters, Madison and Kiara, when they were teenagers. Now they've targeted Zack and they got him."

"So what are we suppose to do?"

"We're going to look for them as well as those other boys. Alex, Madison, Kiara, Nikki, Nicole, and their family are going to help us. They assume that those men have them imprisoned somewhere on the planet, but we have no idea where, so we're going to look."

"I get to help too, right?" I asked.

"Well, I don't think that there's anything I can do to stop you," Mom replied.

"No, there isn't."

"Fine. You can help. But you still have to go to school. It's only for eight hours, which is a third of the day, ok?"

"Fine."

"I'm guessing that I can't help though?" Selena said.

"Sorry, Selena," Mom said.

"It's fine. All that matters is that you find him and bring him home."

"Then what are we waiting for?" I said. "Let's go."

* * *

 **Wow. That is not good for Zack at all. How long do you guys think it'll take for them to find him?**

 **Anyway, Nagisa101 and cjunit1995 guessed the answer to my last quiz right. The answer was:** _Give Your Heart a Break, by Demi Lovato._ **Good job. It is a good song. I'll post it on my wiki and you can listen to it there.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	45. I Do Something Bad to Help Ease the Pain

**Sarah's POV**

Looking for Zack was really hard.

But I wasn't going to give up.

It's been almost a month since he was kidnapped and we were nowhere close to finding him. We've already looked over half of the countries on the planet and still no sign of him.

I was getting more worried about him with every passing day. And what those men are probably doing to him . . . I start crying every time I think about it. I just can't imagine what he might be feeling every time they touch him. It's just too much and there's nothing that I can do to stop it. It really hurts to even think about it.

It was late right now, almost midnight. Another failed day. Everyone was asleep except for me.

I was trying to write a song about this whole situation, mostly about finding him, but I just couldn't find the right lyrics. But I also couldn't help but cry half the time. It's distracting.

I just can't believe that someone took my brother, my twin brother. And what they're doing to him? Those evil bastards. I'm going to kill them all when and if I find them.

I decided to get a late night snack to maybe help ease the pain of what my twin brother was going through, though I knew it wouldn't help. I went into the kitchen to look for something to eat, but there wasn't really anything I was interested in. I've really lost my appetite since he's disappeared.

But there was maybe something I wanted to drink.

I looked across the room and noticed my dad's liquor cabinet. I didn't want to, but I walked over to it. It wasn't even locked, which wouldn't have been a problem if it was.

I opened it and grabbed out what I think was a bottle of vodka. I looked at it for a while, deciding what to do with it. Based on what I've heard, people drink to feel anything other than sad. I guess that's why my dad drinks every night because he's sad. I considered it.

I opened the bottle and took a sip of it. It tasted like crap. How does something that tastes bad make someone feel good? I'm not sure. But there's only one way to find out.

I closed the liquor cabinet and went to my room, taking the vodka with me. I closed and locked the door to my room once I was in it. Then I got on my bed and drank the rest of the bottle of vodka. When I was finished with it, I felt dizzy and out of thought, but I also felt a little better.

I guess alcohol really does the trick.

I hid the empty bottle under my bed after falling out of it somehow. Then I got back onto the bed and fell asleep.

I wish I could drink more alcohol instead of have dreams, because the only dreams I've been having were about Zak, the last person I wanted to see right now.

It's been two months since I last saw him in person and I still have the scar he gave me on my wrist. My dreams obviously want me to find him because they keep telling me where he is. But I want to find Zack, not Zak. Now if only my dreams would show me where he was.

Maybe if I go find Zak, I'll stop dreaming about him. This dream was different from all of the others, because it's actually telling me where he and his family are going next, not where they are right now.

They were going to Prague, Czech Republic to deal with a cryptid. No surprise there.

This time, I decided to go meet them there. I don't know why. Maybe the alcohol was getting to me, but I just felt like I should, even though I don't want to waste any time not looking for Zack.

When I woke up, I got dressed, grabbed my sword and Poké balls, and headed to Prague.

* * *

 **Yeah, really short chapter. What do you guys think about Sarah drinking? This should be the last short chapter for a while. Zak and his family will start appearing again in the next chapter.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	46. Kur, Part 1

**Zak's POV**

It's been six months. Six months since I became Kur, and since the Secret Scientists have been in pursuit of me to try and cryogenically freeze me because they think I'm a threat.

And, most of all, it's been six months since I last saw or spoke to Sarah.

Well, not really. It's only been two months, but it didn't go good. I know she saved my life, but I couldn't allow her to be anywhere near me.

My family and I were in the Czech Republic, and Fiskerton and I were following a cryptid because it's been causing trouble to the people of Prague. We ran down an alley between two buildings and came to an end that went left or right.

"Which way?" I asked Fiskerton.

He shrugged.

Then we heard a laugh to our right and ran down that way. We noticed a couple sitting near a fountain.

"There!" I said.

I grabbed the claw and we ran toward the fountain. The cryptid lunged out of the water, grabbed the man, and pulled him in.

"Let him go," I said, then activated my powers.

I got in control of the cryptid and it let go of him. Fiskerton helped the man out of the fountain, but he and the woman looked terrified.

"It's ok," I assured them. "It's called a Vitava River Sprite. We're not sure why it left the river, but I'm taking it back there as soon as—"

The woman said something in a language I didn't understand and she was freaking out.

"This isn't helping, is it?"

They ran away in fear.

"No, it's ok!"

Then my powers shut off once again for the millionth time on their own. The Vitava River Spirit ran off.

Fiskerton asked me what happened.

"Nothing," I said. "It's just my powers acting up again. Come on."

We ran after the cryptid. We caught up to it and I activated my powers, but then some kind of spark went off and I blacked out for a moment.

Fiskerton was checking if I was alright.

"I'm fine," I insisted. "I can still do this."

I've had a really hard time keeping my powers from quitting on me, but I just keep pushing myself to keep going.

The cryptid was about to jump into the sewer, but I activated my powers to stop it and it worked this time.

"Told you."

We took the cryptid to the river.

Fiskerton asked me if I was ok.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ok," I replied. "The power's just getting stronger since Antarctica. Like, harder to control. But I think I'm starting to—"

We heard a sound and the cryptid jumped into the river.

Fiskerton complained.

"That wasn't me," I said. "The river sprite got scared of something else, like—"

Then we heard a sound. We turned toward it and saw Beeman's UFO aircraft coming for us.

"They found us," I said.

They shot a beam at us. Fiskerton grabbed me and we dodged it. We ran, but Professor Mizuki and his pet white tiger with a dog's brain intercepted us, and Dr. Grey and her robot, Deadbolt, blocked the other way.

They had us surrounded.

"The river," I said. "We have to swim for it."

We ran to it, but Dr. Beeman blasted the spot in front of us, stopping us.

"Do we get a peaceful surrender, Frankenhair?" he said. "Or do you and Fuzzy Wuzzy like your chances on a five-on-two?"

"You're counting Deadbolt?" I asked, then chuckled. "Fisk, remember how easy the head popped off last time?"

He nodded and did a reenactment of it.

"He's been upgraded," Dr. Grey said.

"This is not a game, child," Professor Mizuki said. "You hold a power too great to be left unprotected."

"Protection?" I asked. "Is that what you call it to make yourselves feel better?"

"How 'bout we just call it five-seconds-'til-messy?" Dr. Beeman said. "Five, four, three, two—"

Before he could say "one", my family submerged out of the river in our sub, hitting Beeman's aircraft, and landing right next to us. My parents and Komodo jumped out with their weapons ready.

"Doctor Saturday, we have no intentions to harm the boy," Professor Mizuki said. "We merely wish to freeze him in acrogenic storage until all of us together can find a solution to this problem of Kur."

"And what on earth makes you think we find that ok?" Dad asked.

Beeman blasted us. "This is not a negotiation."

"I guess not."

He was about to attack him, but someone already beat him to it. Whatever it was moved very fast.

It knocked him into the river, then moved toward the other Secret Scientists and that person apparently had some kind of blade with them because a few cuts appeared on Dr. Grey and Professor Mizuki, and blood started to drop from them.

Then the person stopped, standing between us and them. "Next time, if you come after him again, it'll be your heads I cut off."

I almost couldn't believe my eyes.

"Sarah?" I called.

She had her sword in hand and there was blood on the blade. Her Charizard and Plusle stood by her side.

I'm not going to lie, I was half happy and half terrified to see her.

The Secret Scientists weren't backing down.

"Idiots," Sarah said. "Hey, umm, doggy, can you attack your owner so they can get away? I'll give you a big juicy steak if you do that."

Surprisingly, the white tiger nodded and attacked Professor Mizuki.

Sarah's aura was really strong.

"Go," she told her Pokémon.

Charizard used his fire and Plusle used her electricity.

Sarah turned toward us. "I know I don't really need it, but you guys could at least help."

We shook out of our daze and attacked them. Deadbolt came after me, but Fiskerton jumped on him. Deadbolt began to spin him in a circle.

"Right there, Fisk," I said. "Just hold him still."

I aimed the claw and shot it at Deadbolt. His head turned up and he looked like he was going to malfunction.

"Get clear, boys!" Mom said.

She shot a blast of fire from her fire sword into the opening of Deadbolt's neck. The head popped off.

"Nice one, Mom," I said.

"Zak, I said get clear," she said.

Too late.

Deadbolt blew up and his body hit me, sending me flying.

I hit a couple buildings, and I used the claw to help me land safely, but not without slamming into another building and I fell to the ground with a thud.

I stood up and rubbed my head. Then a hissing sound came from the alley in front of me.

"Who's there?" I called.

A naga came out of the alley.

"What?"

He bowed to me. "Master."

I hoped I heard him wrong. "What did you just call me?"

"I send the salutations of Rani Nagi, my queen," he replied. "The nagas are, as ever, in the service of Kur."

I sighed. "How did you find out?"

"The loyal ones will always know."

"Zak!" I heard my mom called. "I hear something this way."

"Mom?" I said, turning toward the direction her voice came from.

But when I turned back, the naga was gone.

Mom, Fiskerton, and Komodo appeared.

"Oh, thank goodness you're ok." Mom gave me a hug.

Fiskerton gave me a little lecture.

"Yes, I know you're the Kur guardian," I said. "You think I wanted to get blasted into an alley by myself?"

"What happened, Zak?" Mom asked. "I thought I heard hissing."

"Yeah. Can we talk about this somewhere a little less creepy?"

Dad brought the airship to us. We noticed some graffiti on the side of it.

"Let me guess," I said, reading what it said. "'Argost Lives'?"

"You know, I never really appreciated how insane his fans were until he disappeared," Mom said.

Dad threw a few ropes down to us. "Let's move! They're already regrouping."

We grabbed the ropes and were pulled into the airship. We moved.

"Any sign of Beeman's ship yet?" Mom asked.

Then the airship shook.

"Yes," Dad said.

They were blasting at us.

"I can't shake him off," Mom said. "He's got me locked in his sight."

"Then let's take his sight away," Dad said, then looked at Komodo.

He didn't look happy about it.

I strapped him on to a treadmill connected to the airship. He turned himself invisible and ran on it. Our airship was now invisible to the Secret Scientists.

Komodo was complaining.

"Dad," I said.

"I know, and I'm sorry, Komodo," he said. "We should only have to borrow your camouflage field for a few more seconds."

Beeman flew his aircraft in the opposite direction that we were going.

"All clear," Mom said.

Komodo became visible and I unstrapped him. Then he whacked Dad in the head with his tail.

"Hey!" he complained. "I only use it when it's necessary."

Then we heard someone laugh. "I gotta admit, that was pretty clever."

We all were thrown against the wall by some invisible force.

Sarah and her Pokémon, including Espeon, who was using her psychic powers on us, appeared in front of us. Sarah unsheathed her sword, which still had blood on it, and held the tip of the blade to my throat.

"Hello, Saturdays. And Zak," she said. "Long time no see." I could really see the hate and hurt in her eyes. "Do you mind telling me what the hell happened six months ago, and why the hell you guys have been ignoring me and my family?"

My family looked at me. Nice to know they're letting me deal with this alone.

Sarah pressed the blade further into my throat. "Zak?"

"Don't you already know by now?" I asked.

"Yes, as a matter in fact, I do. I just don't know why you never told me, even though me and my family helped you all last summer and this is how you repay us? Zak, I was so worried about you, especially when those assholes captured you. And when I saved you, you just turned away and ran from me. Why did you do that?"

I hesitated. "I was just trying to protect you."

"Protect me? God, you're such a hypocrite. You hated it when all your parents did was protect you, and now you're doing the same thing to me? Zak, I can protect myself a hell of a lot better than you can. And who are you trying to protect me from, anyway? You?"

I didn't answer and just turned away. Or, I tried to, but she was holding her sword really far into my throat that I'm surprised she hadn't pierced it yet.

I glanced at her, and I no longer saw hatred in her eyes.

She looked surprised, and lowered her sword, then sheathed it. "Espeon, let them down."

She sat down on the steps.

Espeon did what she was told and let us down, then Sarah put her and her other Pokémon in their Poké balls.

She kept her head down.

I sat down next to her. Then I noticed the scar on her right wrist and remembered that I had given it to her. I grabbed it and caressed it with my thumb, but she pulled away.

When she looked up, she had tears in her eyes. "So what was that naga talking about?"

"What naga?" Dad asked.

I forgot I hadn't told them yet, so I did. Afterwards, Dad went outside to wash the graffiti off of the airship, which he didn't like, and the rest of us went into the back so that I could practice my powers.

Sarah kept her distance. She moved away every time I got close to her, but she let Komodo go near her. I never thought I'd ever be jealous of him, but it's not like I don't deserve it.

"How's it going in there, Zak?" Dad asked me from the earpiece we had to keep in contact with him while he was outside.

"I don't know," I replied. "It's weird. Like my powers know that I know now. Almost like they really want to cut loose for Kur."

I activated my powers and controlled Fisk, but only for a second, then it shut off.

"What do you think that naga meant, 'the loyal ones will always know'?"

"I don't know," Mom said. "It's ominous, sure, but not really specific or helpful."

"Cryptid sightings have shot up in the past six months," Dad said. "Almost more than we can keep track of. Especially now that we've lost the Secret Scientists help."

"We can handle cryptids without them," I said.

"You're right," Sarah agreed. "Have you really ever needed their help with a cryptid before? I'd say it's their lose, not yours."

I smiled at that.

I managed to control Komodo and had him attack Fisk.

"Yeah, we've pretty much got the cryptid thing nailed," Mom said.

"What?" I said. "He's always like that."

Sarah laughed.

"I don't see any of this turning a corner any time soon, Drew," Dad said. "I think we have to find them."

"But Doyle—"

"Doyle hasn't found Argost yet. And they may know even more about Kur than Argost does. We put it off too long anyway."

"Wait," I said. "Who do we have to find?"

"The nagas," Sarah answered.

I looked at my mom for confirmation and she nodded.

I looked back at Sarah. "How did you know?"

"Zak, I've known you were Kur since the day you became it, and how I found that out is for me to know and you to find out. Now let's go find them."

"You're coming with us?"

"I've spent too long looking for you. I'm not letting any of you out of my sight again."

* * *

Mom looked up information on where the nagas were located and the only place was in Thailand in the Pyraya River, so that's where we went and we took our sub out again, standing on the top of it above the river.

"Look for some super natural balls of light rising from the Chao Pyraya River itself," Mom said. "It's suppose to be a naga phenomenon."

"Because, again, we're actually hunting for nagas," I said. "The snake people who tried to rip the planet in half."

"It was a negotiation strategy," Dad said. "An insane one, but it shows they're willing to make deals."

"They've come after you once already, Zak," Mom said. "At least, maybe, this way we can talk on our own terms."

"I have a feeling that that talk is not going to go well," Sarah said.

She was probably going to be right.

A ball of light came out of the river in front of us.

"Keep it tight," Dad said. "Nobody moves until we see an actual naga. We can't afford to get careless."

The ball of light became blinding and we covered our eyes. But then I felt something grab me from behind, cover my mouth, and it pulled me into the river, my family too blinded by the light to see and I couldn't make any kind of noise to alert them.

Whatever grabbed me dragged me underwater.

Whatever grabbed me dragged me underwater. I activated my powers to try and get in control of the creature that was drowning me. It let me go.

"Yes, show your power," a voice said from somewhere, and I recognized it. "Let them all know Kur has returned. I know you can feel it, the darkness in you. You know what you must become. Kur, monster of cryptids. Kur, scourge of the human race. Kur, the destroyer."

I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

When I awoke, I was in some kind of underwater cave. Rani Nagi and the nagas were waiting near her throne.

I grabbed the claw.

"Your weapon isn't needed," Rani Nagi assured me. "We have been enemies in the past, but now that Kur has been revealed, the nagas humbly place ourselves in your service."

They bowed to me.

"What?" I asked. "You just tried to drown me."

"I apologize to Kur, but it was necessary. We needed to push your power further, to send the call out loud and clear: Kur has returned, and the overthrow of the human race has begun."

"Umm, you know I am human, right?"

"Are you?"

That response surprised me.

Rani Nagi came closer to me. "You are Kur. How do you think this happened?"

"My parents figured it was the Kur Stone," I said. "My mom was pregnant with me when they dug it up and there was all this weird energy."

"Yes. Kur would've kept his essence alive in something of his. When on earth it sought out a new form. Not another cryptid. Something more dangerous this time. Something to live between the worlds of human and cryptid."

I took her words to heart and realized what she was saying. "Wait. So, I'm what? Half cryptid?"

"You are all Kur," she said, wrapping her tail about me. "And your destiny is set. You have already felt a surge in power, yes?"

She wrapped her tail tighter around me. I struggled to get free.

"Let me go." I activated my powers.

"Good," Rani Nagi said. "The power wants to be used. It knows its purpose. Any false sympathy for mankind is simply your foolish human parents talking."

"No," I heard my mom say. "This is his parents talking."

She and the rest of our family, plus Sarah, were standing about twenty feet away with their weapons ready.

"Get away from my son."

She blasted at the nagas with a cortex disruptor. She hit most of them, and I was able to get away. We began fighting them all, but Sarah did most of the work for us.

She summoned a lot of fire from herself and hit all of the nagas, including Rani Nagi, with a strong burst of fire. Her powers seamed to have gotten a lot stronger over the past few months.

They all were knocked to the ground, having a hard time getting back up again.

Sarah was breathing hard. "That should take care of them for a while."

"So are we done talking with the nagas?" I asked.

"Let's go," Dad said.

We all got into our sub and left the cave.

We heard Rani Nagi yell about the nagas starting a war for Kur on our way out. I could already tell that it wasn't going to be good.

* * *

 **Yay! Zak's back! It's been forever since he's had a POV. Like, a week, lol. Anyway, we're back in the last of the episode chapters, so they're going to be longer again. What do you guys think is going to happen with Sarah and Zak?**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	47. Kur, Part 2

**Zak's POV**

After getting back on the airship, we had to figure out where the nagas were going to start the war for Kur, or me, and stop them.

"I don't think it's a bluff," Dad said. "The nagas are going to launch a first strike on the human race. It's just a matter of where."

"It'll have to be a major city," Mom said. "The nagas will want something big, something to strike as much fear as possible."

"They're semi-aquatic species. We should focus on island cities. They'd be the easiest to hit by surprise."

Mom and Dad pulled up every country and their island cities on the screen.

"That still leaves too many options," Mom said. "We're gong to have to make a very hopeful guess."

My parents looked at me.

Fiskerton made a gesture to himself, looking surprised.

"I think they mean me, Fisk," I said. "But why me?"

"Well, like it or not, you are Kur, kiddo," Mom said. "So, if it were you, where would you hit us?"

"Guys, I don't— You heard what the nagas said. What if some part of me actually wants this to happen? Should you really be trusting me?"

"I'm your mom, Zak. I'm gonna trust you even when it's stupid."

"She's right, Zak," Sarah said. "Minus the stupid part. Maybe. But you need to do this for us so that we can stop it."

I smiled.

I concentrated on the screen. My eyes set on one city. I activated my powers and felt it to be a good place for an attack.

"Hong Kong," I said.

"I'll set the course," Dad said.

Mom smiled at me.

But Sarah looked uneasy. I'm not sure why, but I felt it better not to ask.

* * *

Later, in Hong Kong, we went naga scouting.

Mom and Komodo used the airship, Dad used the griffin, Sarah her Charizard, and Fisk and I used his bike and ride down all the streets.

I had my powers activated. "I'm not feeling any cryptid activity. It's definitely not big enough for an evasion."

"You're right," Sarah agreed.

We had communications with us to keep in contact with each other.

"Coast line is still clear," Dad said.

"Communication satellites are quiet too," Mom said. "No reports of trouble."

"Not yet, anyway," Sarah said.

"Still no reason to relax our guard," Dad said. "When the nagas hit, they're gonna hit fast."

"Rani Nagi said that their forces were already moving," I said. "I know they've got a whole army, but we still should've beaten them here by this point."

"Unless they're not attacking here," Sarah said.

She really wasn't helping.

"He's right, Doc," Mom said. "This isn't making any sense."

"I can only tell you what I'm seeing," he replied. "And I guarantee there is no naga army anywhere off the east coast."

"The sewers."

"What?" I asked.

"They'll be coming up through the sewers," Mom repeated. "Zak, Sarah, Doc, focus on major sewer access points."

Fisk stopped near a sewer pipe and I looked down it with my powers still active.

Mom had landed the airship near us and came out of it. Sarah came near us too.

"There's nothing down here," I said.

"What?" Mom asked. "Where else could they be?"

"Uh, in another city?" Sarah suggested.

A few moments later, Dad confirmed it for us.

"I've got a news feed from New York City," he said. "Giant snakes coming out of the sewers in Manhattan."

"I—I got the wrong island," I said.

"Honey, I love you, but we can second-guess ourselves later," Mom said. "Right now, we've got a war to stop."

"Ok."

We all got back into the airship and headed to New York City.

"Uh-oh," Sarah said.

"What?" I asked her.

"Uh, nothing. Just the fact that New York City is known as the Protector of America's territory, also known as my mom. Though I'm not really worried. I would be if it was my dad."

"How's it been between you two?"

"Uh, ok, but not exactly good. He's still drinking."

I decided not to ask anymore questions.

* * *

Once we arrived in New York City, the nagas had about ten to fifteen people as hostages, so we got out of our airship and stood between them and the people.

Rani Nagi screamed in outrage.

"Leave Kur," she told the other nagas. "Slay the rest."

They attacked us and we attacked back.

The people ran away in fright. We were winning at first. One flying creature flew next to me but didn't attack.

"Yes, that is he," a naga told it. "Rejoice that you have lived to see the return of Kur."

Suddenly, all of them focused on me. One of them brought a few people over to me.

"This is all for me," I said. "They're doing this for me."

"Then tell them to stop," Dad said.

He and Mom were busy fighting a big sea creature.

I noticed that some of Sarah's pet cheetahs had ran in and saved the people that the nagas had captured.

"Right," I said.

I activated my powers, but it hurt and everything went wrong. The creatures began throwing cars into buildings and I couldn't get them to stop.

"Zak, talk to me," Mom said.

"There's too many of them," I said. "My powers . . . hard to control."

"Just shut it off, Zak," Dad said. "Shut it—"

The sea creature had body slammed him, crushing his legs, and he screamed in pain.

"Doc!" Mom called.

Then a flying creature hit her and threw her into a car.

"I can't shut it off," I said.

I was panicking a little bit. The creatures were going crazy.

"Zak!" Sarah called.

I had a strong burst of energy and my powers deactivated.

Mom and Dad could not walk and Komodo had a broken paw. The nagas were advancing on them.

"No," I said heartbrokenly.

Fisk, Sarah, and I managed to help my parents and Komodo and get them safely into a parking garage. After laying them down, Sarah began working on their wounds.

"What happened?" Dad asked.

"What happened? I'm Kur," I said. "I told you not to trust me."

"Zak, I know it's been hard."

"No, you don't know. You don't know what this Kur power is capable of. And what's really scary, I don't either. But take a look at all this, look at my own family, then tell me again how I'm not the bad guy." I took a moment to mourn over what's happened. "Call in the Secret Scientists, Dad."

"Zak—"

"Somebody has to fix this. All of it."

"The Secret Scientists are not going to fix anything, Zak," Sarah said. "They'll probably just make it worse."

I wasn't listening to her.

"Zak," Dad said and stood up, but not without some struggle.

"Dad, your legs," I said, but he didn't listen.

"Just look me in the eye. Do you remember what I said to you when this Kur mess started, back in the jungles of Mannose?"

"Uh, I—I don't."

"I told you if the power of Kur got out into the world, you may be the only one who can stop it. No matter how complicated it's gotten since then, I still believe that. It's the one truth I'll accept without a shred of scientific evidence."

Sarah laughed a little bit after he said that last part.

"I know in my gut, in my heart, that my son is here to be a force for good," Dad continued. "It's all you've ever known how to be."

I smiled.

Then a howl came from the entrance of the parking garage.

"Uh-oh," Sarah said.

Raylee and her pets entered.

"Sarah?" she asked. "Why are you not in school?"

"Since when have you cared about me being in school?" she said.

"Good point. But when I woke up this morning, you were gone. I thought you gave up looking for him."

"I did. But my powers wouldn't let me. But this time, they actually gave me a chance to get to him before he left, so I took it. Have you found him yet?"

"Not even close. But I did run into Doyle in London earlier. He looked different. For that moment anyway. But then I got a message from Jed about the nagas attacking New York City and I had a feeling that the Saturdays would be there as well. Speaking of which, I better go and save these sorry ass people."

"Didn't you take this job because you care about those sorry ass people?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Raylee replied. "But when I got here, I heard one of those guys that the nagas had held hostage say to another guy that the only person that could actually help them with these monsters was V.V. Argost. That really pissed me off. But if they knew how Argost really is, he would've let them eat those people. Of course, I almost let them eat him after I heard him say that, but that's besides the point. It was nice seeing you guys again."

And she and her pets left to evacuate the city.

I turned toward Fiskerton. "I guess it's just you and me again, Fisk. Got my back?"

He nodded.

"Then let's go show these snakes how the new Kur does business."

"What about me?" Sarah asked.

"Do you wanna come?" I asked.

"Sure."

"Then come on."

The three of us left my parents and Komodo in the parking garage.

"No more holding back," Rani Nagi told her army. "The humans are yours. Let their screams announce the return of Kur!"

"Actually, Kur can make his own announcement," I said, having the claw out and powers active. "He says you're fired."

I slingshot the claw into her and punched her away.

"Restrain the boy," she told her army. "He doesn't understand who he is."

They advanced on us, but we took care of them. I was doing most of the work, mostly because they were all going after me.

"One on the rear!" I heard Dad call to me.

Too late.

A big sea creature came up from behind me and knocked me away with its tail. Fiskerton helped me, but he also got hit by the tail.

"Your mind is being poisoned, child," Rani Nagi said, who was now on top of the sea creature. "I'm sorry if the cure hurts, but it's the only way to be healed. Crush the boys parents!"

The sea creature moved toward the parking garage.

I activated my powers again and tried to stop it, but my powers were failing again.

"No. Not now," I complained. "Come on."

The sea creature reached the parking garage and slammed its tail down on it, collapsing it.

"No!" I said.

Then Sarah summoned a big fireball and threw it at Rani Nagi, knocking her off the sea creature and sending her flying into an alley.

"I hope your tail burns, bitch," Sarah said.

My parents and Komodo managed to get out of the rubble, but the sea creature wasn't done with them. I activated my powers again and this time they worked and I was in control of the sea creature.

"Stop," I said.

It did as I commanded.

"All right. I think your big city vacation is over."

* * *

Fisk, Sarah, and I took the big sea creature back to the river while my parents went to get the airship. We helped the sea creature back into the water and it began swimming away.

"Straight onto open ocean," I said. "No stopping and no humans. Not ever again. Thus speakth Kur."

Fisk was surprised to hear me say that.

"What? It's majestic."

Sarah laughed.

We walked back toward the city.

"So who was your mom looking for?" I asked Sarah.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You asked your mom if she had found 'him' yet. Who's him?"

She looked like she was about ready to break. "Umm, well—" She faltered. "Zak, look out!"

I didn't know what she meant until someone suddenly appeared next to me. I couldn't believe who it was.

Argost.

He picked me up, jumped onto a building, and started carrying me up it.

"Fisk!" I called.

Argost carried me to the roof of the building.

"Let me go!" I said.

"But I only just abducted you," Argost said. "Allow me to savor the moment."

Then Fisk and Sarah had came up to the roof. Fisk fought Argost, and he surprisingly had the upper hand while carrying me and all.

He tripped Fisk and he stumbled at the edge of the roof, about ready to fall.

"No," I cried.

But Argost grabbed him and threw him down on the roof, then threw me next to him.

Sarah checked on us.

"I hope now you'll believe me when I say I only want to talk," Argost said.

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it," Sarah said, crossing her arms over her chest.

I crossed my arms as well. "We don't have anything to talk about, Argost."

"Oh, I respectfully disagree," he said. "You are Kur. That's quite the conversation starter. Ah, yes. By now you must've seen what a danger you are to your family, to all of humanity."

"He's not a danger to anyone, you asshole," Sarah said, coming to my defense. "Everyone else just tries to make him dangerous."

"I'm getting my power under control," I said.

"But in time?" he asked. "Your danger is born of ignorance. You don't understand your powers. You need someone to teach you how to control it before it controls you."

"Let me guess, you're volunteering?"

"Well, I have done a bit of research on the topic."

Then we heard a sound from behind us and I recognized it as the airship.

"Ah, the Calvary arrives," Argost said. "Then I'll await your answer tonight, midnight, at the top of the Empire State Building."

"Top of the Empire State Building?" Sarah and I asked.

"I have a weakness for the classic monster clichés."

"Apparently," Sarah said.

He jumped over the edge and disappeared.

We looked down at the street below, but didn't see him anywhere.

* * *

Back on the airship, my parents and Sarah's family were congratulating me.

"You were amazing, honey," Mom said.

"Total control of your Kur powers," Dad said. "I knew you could do it."

"So did I," Sarah said.

"Yeah, total control," I said.

"This could change everything," Mom said. "Who knows? We may finally even convince the Secret Scientists that Zak isn't a threat."

Sarah snorted. "I doubt it. We all know how unreasonable they are. Remember last summer, when they thought Fiskerton was targeting them? Please. No matter how in control Zak may seam to them, they'll always keep going after him, so why bother?"

We had to agree that she was right, but you never know what could happen.

Fiskerton turned on the news about me controlling the sewer snakes and that the police were looking for any information about me, then the news reported mentioned about me dating Raylee Hollingers daughter.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!" Sarah said.

Mom turned it off.

"How the hell do they know we were with them all last summer?"

Raylee shook her head. "I don't know. There's no way a paparazzi could've followed us. Plus, I made it illegal for them. But how they found out? We may never know. But that's just the life of a celebrity, I guess."

Sarah nodded in agreement.

"Ok, well, we still need to work on your public image," Mom told me. "But, cheer up, there's still enough good news for one day."

"Should I check back in tomorrow then?" Doyle asked, appearing on the screen in front of us.

"Doyle!" I said.

"Good to see you too, miniman."

Zon appeared behind him.

"Zon, hey!" I said. "I've missed you so much."

She gestured to something, then pulled a man in front of the screen.

We couldn't believe who it was.

"Get off me, you flying crocodile," Van Rook said, then noticed us. "Hello, Drew."

Raylee rolled her eyes. "Asshole."

"Uh, Doyle?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, don't," he replied, then turned toward him. "Clear off, alright? Family time."

He whistled for Zon and she tackled him off the screen.

Sarah laughed.

"You said you had some news," Dad said. "Did you find out where Argost has been?"

"Underground, and not in a nice way," Doyle said. "We found Munya, but it looks like Argost is gone. Like, gone gone."

Sarah, Fisk, and I looked at each other, knowing better than that.

"Doyle, that's . . . wow," Mom said. "Honestly, I don't know what that is."

"Relief?" Dad suggested. "As much as we could've used his knowledge of Kur, I feel safer knowing there's no way he can get to Zak."

That made me feel worse.

"Yeah, great news, Doyle," I said. "Hey, can Fisk and I talk to Doyle alone for a minute? You know, guy talk."

"I'm a guy," Dad argued.

Sarah and Raylee laughed.

Mom grabbed his arm. "Alright. Just give the boys a minute."

She led him out of the room. Komodo followed, along with Sarah and her family.

"So what's up?" Doyle asked me.

"Argost is alive," I said.

"What?"

"Just listen, ok? I need you to know everything about Argost you can find. The deep history, before Weird World, anything that'll give me an edge on him. I'm sorry, I can't tell you why and you cannot tell Mom and Dad, but just—"

"Done. You know I trust you totally, miniman."

"Yeah, there's a lot of that going around right now."

* * *

After chatting with Doyle, Sarah's family had to go home.

"Well, I better get back searching for him," Raylee said, then turned toward Sarah. "Are you going to stay with them?"

She looked at me. "They could use my help. So, yeah. I'll stay. Good luck."

Raylee smiled, and so did I.

When Sarah's family left, I took her in the back so we could talk in private.

"Ok, I don't understand, Zak," Sarah began. "Earlier you said that the reason you didn't contact me for the past six months was because you were trying to keep me safe . . . from you? Why?"

"Because, Sarah," I said. "I'm Kur. I'm an evil monster that wants to—"

"You're not a monster. Stop saying that you are."

"But I am."

"No, you're not." A tear streaked down her face. "Zak, I've been thinking about this ever since I found out who Kur was. Is Kur really a bad cryptid, or are the people that want him, like Argost, trying to make him an evil cryptid? I know he is the key to ultimate evil, but maybe he wants to use his powers for good and others are trying to make him be bad, and that could be why he chose someone like you. Someone who is connected to both people and cryptids, and who has a good heart. Whatever the case, you're Kur now, a good Kur, and you need to stop letting others effect you because of that."

I really took her words to heart, and I smiled.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"You just reminded me why you're my girlfriend," I said.

She smiled. "Ok."

"So you forgive me?"

She leaned in and kissed me. "Does that answer your question?"

I smiled. "Yes."

"Good. And you better make up for those six months."

"I will."

"So, what did you tell Doyle?"

I told her everything.

When I was done, she nodded. "Ok. Hopefully, he'll find something good for us."

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Umm, is it ok if I tell my mom about this?"

"Why?"

"Well, she's my mom. I tell her everything, and I can guarantee you she'll keep it a secret. She's good at that."

I sighed. "Fine. But no one else. Not even Zack."

She gave me a kiss. "Thanks."

We heard a little clapping and laughing. We turned toward the sound and saw a little girl standing near the door. She looked to be about five years old, and wearing an orange outfit with an "S" in the middle of the her shirt.

"It's her," I said.

"I know," Sarah said. "I haven't seen her since that day last summer."

I nodded in agreement.

Last summer, this little girl would appear every once in a while. She didn't talk or do anything except just smile and laugh, both of which were cute. But the only problem: Sarah and I were the only ones that could see her, but we didn't know why or even who she was, but we felt like we do know her.

"Hi." Sarah waved to her.

She waved back.

"Do you want to play?"

She laughed like Sarah had just told her a joke. Then she waved goodbye and ran out of the room.

"I really want to spend more time with her and at least know her name instead of having her run off like that, and then disappear if I chase her," Sarah said.

"Me too," I said.

Sarah looked at her phone. "It's almost midnight."

"Then we should go."

She nodded in agreement.

* * *

Sarah and I grabbed Fisk and the three of us headed to the top of the Empire State Building where Argost was waiting for us.

"So tell me how this is suppose to work," I said.

"It's quite simple," he said. "I have finally healed from the unpleasantness you inflicted upon me in Antarctica. Now I find myself ready to return to Weird World, both the home and the television program, which Munya has so graciously kept alive in my absence. Through my show, I will send subtle messages to you, my young pupil to be. Cryptids worth investigating. All the things a young Kurling needs to find his place in this cruel world. Truly, it couldn't be simpler."

"And you really think I'm going to fall for this?" I asked. "'All is forgiven, I want to help you now'? Like you won't be working on some evil super-genius-plan behind my back?"

"You wound me, dear boy. Of course I'll be plotting behind your back. I'm going to deceive you, manipulate you, and when I've gotten what I want, well, I'll let your imagination conger up the gruesome finale. Your only hope of survival is that somehow, the things I teach you will be enough for a twelve year old boy to outwit the worlds most dangerous mind before I rend you to pieces like a wolverine with a squeaky toy."

Well, at least he was being honest, and he had a point.

I didn't trust him, but there was no one else that could help me with my Kur powers. I thought about it for another moment.

"Deal."

* * *

 **Yeah, and we all know how that's going to go. But Sarah and Zak are back together. The next chapter's going to be cute.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	48. A Late, But Romantic Valentine's Day Sur

**Sarah's POV**

It was nice to be back with Zak, but I couldn't help but feel guilty about it. I was here with him instead of looking for my brother, my twin brother.

Before midnight last night, after taking that sea creature back to the river, my mom and I were talking.

"So you forgive him?" Mom asked me.

"Yeah," I replied. "It was stupid in the first place for him to do that, but I forgive him."

"He was just trying to be a good boyfriend."

"I know."

"As long as you know. But there's something I actually want to ask you."

"Ok. What is it?"

"Well, now that you're back together with Zak and you're helping him with this Kur stuff, I was wondering if you wanted us to be with you, like last summer."

"Oh. Umm . . ." I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. "Thanks, Mom, but I want to handle this on my own."

"Ok," she said. "I was actually thinking about helping Doyle find Argost."

"What about Zack? He's still missing, Mom. You need to go find him."

"I know, but I just can't."

"So you're going to abandon him? Leave him to suffer at the hands of those assholes? Think about what they're doing to him!"

Mom was tearing up. "Sarah, I know. I think about it all the time and I can't bare the thought of it. I don't want to stop looking for him, but I just don't think I can find him."

"You have to try," I said. "For him."

"You're right. But I have no idea where to look. I've already looked everywhere."

"You have to begin again somewhere."

She wiped her tears away. "I know. I guess I'll go look for him now. Have fun and good luck."

"Thanks."

She teleported away and I was alone.

* * *

Now I was in the back of the Saturday's airship with my guitar, trying to work on a song about Zack, but nothing was coming to mind. So I played a tune without singing, which is something I rarely ever do.

I had my powers make small bottles of vodka for me and I would drink a little bit every once in a while, and sometimes a lot. Enough to make me a little drunk, but not really drunk.

Then Zak entered the room and I quickly hid the bottles.

"Hey, Zak," I said.

"Hey," he replied. "I was looking for you. What are you doing?"

"Just playing my guitar."

"Ok." He sat down next to me. "How's the music been going for you?"

"Umm . . . good."

I didn't feel like telling him how I got a record deal, made an album, and that it's suppose to be released soon, thanks to him. I don't know why, though.

"I'm trying to work on a song," I said.

"What's it about?" Zak asked.

"Umm . . ."

I also didn't feel like telling him about what happened to my twin brother.

"Nothing in particular," I lied. "Just in general."

"Ok," he said. "Umm, I kind of have a surprise for you."

"Oh, really? What is it?"

"Follow me."

He grabbed my hand and led me away.

* * *

He took me to the roof, grabbing a blanket along the way.

It was night time. The sky was clear with a lot of stars and the air was a little chilly.

We sat down and Zak wrapped the blanket around both of us and we snuggled together. It was really beautiful.

"Was this the surprise?" I asked.

"No," Zak replied. " _This_ is the surprise."

He pulled a small black case out from his pocket. I looked at it, but I was afraid to open it. He did it for me.

Inside was a heart-shaped amethyst stone necklace encased in gold with a gold chain.

I was relieved to see that it wasn't a ring, like I originally thought it was.

"Oh, Zak, it's beautiful," I said. "Where did you get it?"

"At a store in some country we were in a few weeks ago," he said. "I remembered that it was Valentine's Day and it made me think of you. I even got some initials printed on the back of it."

He took it out of its case and flipped it over, and I read the initials on it.

"S.Z.F.A.?" I asked. "I know what S and Z stand for, obviously, but what does F and A mean?"

"Sarah and Zak, forever and always," Zak said.

"Forever and always?"

"Yeah. Too much?"

"No, it's perfect."

"So you like it?"

"Like it? I love it! And I—" I faltered.

I don't know why, but telling him "I love you" was too much for me to say.

"Yeah," he said, like he understood. "Do you want me to put it on you?"

"Of course!"

I lifted my hair up and he clasped the necklace on around my neck.

I looked down at it.

"This is really beautiful, Zak," I said. "Thank you."

I kissed him.

"You're welcome," he said. "I also have something else for you, but it's not quite as beautiful."

He pulled out a white teddy bear from inside the blanket that was covered with colorful hearts. It even had a heart for a nose.

"Aww, it's so cute," I said and took it. "Thank you, again."

I gave him another kiss.

"Hey, you deserve it," he said.

I smiled.

I shifted myself closer to him and we laid together all night, looking up at the stars.

This was officially the best Valentine's Day date I've ever had.

* * *

 **Aww, wasn't that so cute? I actually have the very white bear that Zak gave Sarah. I got it from no one special, and just bought it myself because it was so cute.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	49. The Thousand Eyes of Ahuizotl

**Zak's POV**

Hiding in the Grand Cannon? Not a bad idea. The only bad thing about it is that we don't get any TV signal, so I'm having Fisk take the satellite to the top of the cannon. He didn't like it at all, so Sarah helped him.

Hiding in the Grand Cannon? Not a bad idea. The only bad thing about it is that we don't get any TV signal, so I'm having Fisk take the satellite to the top of the cannon. He didn't like it at all, so Sarah helped him.

Argost's show was about to come on and I needed to watch it.

The three of us agreed that we shouldn't trust him. Sarah, though, says that she would much rather trust him than any of the Secret Scientists (when she first said that, she accidentally said Secret Saturdays. But, I gotta admit, it's a catchy title), and I kind of agree.

For now.

"You're lucky I have my aura," Sarah said through the communication speakers. "Or these coyotes would be biting the hell out of us. You got anything, Zak?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Nice job, guys."

We turned the communicators off and Sarah teleported her and Fisk back into the airship. She sat down on the arm of the chair.

Weird World came on.

"Zak, your parents are coming," Sarah said.

You've gotta love her powers sometimes.

I quickly turned off the TV just as my parents entered the room.

"It's all over the news feed," Dad said. "Weird World is back on the air."

He wanted the remote and I handed it to him.

"But I—I thought Doyle said Argost was—"

He turned on the TV.

"Yes, boys and girls," Argost said. "Argost lives."

Komodo growled.

"Looks like Doyle was wrong," Dad said. "Argost is alive and broadcasting."

"I can't believe I'm seeing this, and so clearly," Mom said. "How did we get such a good signal down in this canyon?"

Dad shrugged.

Sarah, Fisk, and I kept quiet.

Dad turned off the TV. "That's more than I care to see."

"Looks like our hide and rest time is over," Mom said.

"Next move?"

"Let's go figure that out."

Dad handed me back the remote and they left the room. Komodo stayed, though.

"Sorry, Komodo," I told him. "Fisk, Sarah, and I need to talk. You understand, right?"

He made a noise and left the room.

"Aww," Sarah said. "Why can't he also be a part of this?"

"The less of us that know, the better," I replied.

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine."

I turned back on the TV.

Argost was talking about a cryptid named Ahuizotl, a native in the jungles of Mexico, and it had a thousand eyes.

Fisk looked unsure.

"Hey, I'm not stupid," I said. "I know it's probably something dangerous, but if I'm gonna let Argost teach me anything about my Kur powers, I'm gonna have to take a few risks."

I turned off the TV and we went in the back to where my parents were.

They were looking at a map of the globe listing cryptids that were acting unusual, and my parents couldn't decide which one to deal with.

"Mexico," I said. "That one. The, um, Ahuizotl. It sounds like people are actually disappearing, and aren't we all about keeping people safe?"

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain someone's love of canastas, would it?"

Dad asked, gesturing toward Fiskerton.

"No, I just have a Kur kind of feeling about this one."

Mom and Dad looked at each other.

"I'll get the sunscreen," Mom said.

"Nice fake reason," Sarah whispered to me.

"Thanks," I said, though I doubt it was all a lie.

* * *

After arriving at the jungle, we realized that the spot where the Ahuizotl's located was right next to a vacation spot on a beach.

"I didn't realize this sighting was so close to a resort area," Mom said.

"All the more reason to get up river quickly," Dad said. "These tourists have no idea the danger they may be in."

"Do they ever?" Sarah asked.

"Wouldn't it be nice not to be for once?" I said, then sighed. "Think we'll ever get to have a real vacation again?"

"Not unless the—" Sarah began.

"Sarah!" a small voice called.

Then something jumped on top of her and she screamed.

She tried to get it off of her, and I tried to help. I picked up what had jumped on top of her and realized that it was a baby girl.

She started to squirm and cried.

"Emily?" Sarah asked. She grabbed the baby from me and she stopped crying. "What are you doing here?"

"I climbed up in the tree," she said. "And I saw them, I almost screamed, but I saw you too."

"Uh, ok."

"How'd you get up in the tree?" I asked.

"Sarah taught me, but Mommy helped me up this tree," Emily said.

"She's a young learner," Sarah said. "But where is Mommy?"

"Uh, Sarah?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"I think that's her over there."

I had binoculars with me and I pointed over to Raylee, who looked to be wearing a one-piece bathing suit and was reading a book on a chair on the sand with Pikachu on her head. Then I noticed the animals playing in the water.

Sarah had a mad look on her face. She stomped her way over to her mom.

"Mom!" she called. "What the hell are you doing?"

My family and I reluctantly followed her.

Raylee seemed to be scared when she saw Sarah. "Sarah? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What the fuck are you doing here?"

Emily was crying again.

"Sarah, give me Emily before you hurt her," Raylee said.

She handed Emily to her and she handed her over to the man that was sitting next to her. Sarah's father, I presumed.

The animals heard Sarah and came over to us.

"Mom, why aren't you out there looking for him?" Sarah asked. "Instead of being here doing who-the-fuck-knows-what?"

"Sarah," her father said sternly.

Raylee held her hand up to him. "Cj, it's fine." She turned back to Sarah. "Sarah, I'm doing my best to find him, but I just can't."

"So you're giving up, just like that?"

"Sarah, you're making a scene."

She was right. Everyone that was around us was looking at her.

"I don't fucking care if I'm making a scene," Sarah said. "All I care about is finding him. But you, apparently, don't care about him at all."

Raylee looked hurt, and a tear streaked down her face. "I do care about him, Sarah."

"If you did, then why the fuck are you here and not looking for him?!"

She was really crying now. "Have you been looking for him since you made up with Zak?"

"Don't you dare turn this on me, Mom, to make you look innocent."

"I'm not trying to."

"Yes, you are! You're trying to make me feel bad because I— What the fuck do you want?"

Shillow was sniffing around her. She whinnied at Sarah's sudden outburst and took a step back.

"Sarah, you need to calm down," Raylee said.

"No," she said. "I will not calm down until you find him!"

I have never seen her like this before and I didn't want to see her like this ever again. But I didn't know who she was talking about.

"What is it, Shillow?" Raylee asked.

"I smell alcohol," she replied.

We all looked at Sarah.

"Don't look at me," she said. "It's probably Dad."

"I haven't had anything today," he said.

"Not yet."

"Sarah," Raylee said.

"No, Mom. I'm done here." She turned toward me. "I'll wait for you guys in the jungle."

She stomped off.

We waved awkwardly to the Hollingers and began walking away.

"Wait, Zak," Raylee called. "Sarah's not usually like this. It's just been really hard for her these past couple months."

"I can tell," I said. "But who was she talking about?"

"I'll let her tell you when she's ready. But can you watch her for me?"

"I'll try."

"Ok. Thank you, and good luck."

I nodded and we walked after Sarah.

She still looked mad.

"Sarah?" I asked.

"What?"

"You made your mom cry."

"She always cries."

"She's just trying to do all that she can."

"Well, it's not enough."

"Who's missing?"

Her face turned sad. A tear streaked down her face. "I can't say. We should get back to looking for that cryptid."

We all nodded in agreement.

"But first . . ." She activated her powers and four speed boats, plus a mechanical surfboard appeared on the water with life preservers. "You guys may not have another chance at a vacation. So let's enjoy this while it lasts."

We all agreed.

I got the board, while everyone else got a speed boat.

"I love these things," Sarah said.

Fisk had gotten himself a canasta.

"Hey, Fisk," I called. "You know you're not suppose to go in the water for half an hour after eating that?"

He finished it and said he could wait.

"You sure?"

I moved near him and knocked him off his speed boat.

Sarah, Komodo, and I laughed.

"Zak, that's not funny," Mom said.

Dad laughed, but covered with a cough. "Not a bit."

"What? I was just helping him wash down his to—"

Fiskerton grabbed me and pulled me into the water.

Sarah laughed.

Fisk and I began splashing each other.

Then Sarah groaned. "Bitch alert."

We noticed someone coming our way.

"Miranda," Mom said.

"So this is pretty much like every vacation we've had," I said.

"Zak, go. Now."

I went off on my board and Fisk and Sarah followed on their speed boats.

"You know we're going back to help, right?" I told them.

"Of course, Zak," Sarah said. "We know you."

Then Deadbolt suddenly appeared in front of us, and we barely had time to dodge him.

"Let's show the tin man who owns these rapids," I said.

"With pleasure," Sarah said.

She summoned a fireball and threw it at him dead center. He fell into the water in pieces.

"I just rebuilt him!" Miranda said.

"Yeah, and you'll keep rebuilding him if you don't leave us alone," Sarah said.

She threw a fireball at her, knocking her off her speed boat and onto the shore. She disappeared among the trees.

We headed that way.

"She may be calling in more Secret Scientists," Dad said.

"Oh, I'll make sure she doesn't," Sarah said.

Then we saw something moving between the trees.

"There," Dad said.

We ran after her, but realized that the figure looked cryptid-like.

"That is definitely _not_ Miranda."

"Maybe it's Ahuizotl," I said.

"That thing that was on Weird World?" Mom asked.

"Yeah."

Sarah face palmed herself. Then I realized what Mom just said.

"Wait, no," I said. "I mean . . . that thing was on Weird World? Whoa, coincidence."

"Yeah, you're probably gonna wanna stop talking now," Mom said.

"Yes, I am."

Sarah laughed.

We followed the creature to a small area with houses all around. There were a lot of people with masks and spear-like sticks in front of us.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "Now it's a real Saturday's vacation."

"You people have weird vacations," Sarah said.

I had the claw ready, but Dad held it back.

"Easy, Zak," he said. "It might not come to that with a little diplomacy." He turned toward the people. "What have you done with the woman who crossed near the river?"

"Yeah, both of you clearly rising stars in the diplomatic community," Mom said sarcastically.

Sarah laughed. "I have to agree with her there."

Mom said something to the people in Spanish.

A man replied back and she translated.

"'There is no woman like that here. Please leave immediately.'"

"Ask them if they know where to find Ahuizotl," I said.

The people freaked out when they heard me say that. Apparently, that's one of the only words they know in English. They turned off all the lights and it became really dark, too dark to see.

"I guess they've heard of him," Dad said.

Then we got knocked and hit by them.

"No diplomat?" Dad asked.

"Ah, I move we break off negotiation," Mom said.

Sarah summoned some light for us so that we could see, then the people fought us and we fought back. I grabbed one guy with the claw and threw him down, then his mask fell off.

I picked it up. "Should we stop? This is almost embarrassing."

The man was frisking around for his mask, and when he looked up, I saw that he had no eyes. Literally. He had no eye balls at all, just empty sockets.

"Uh, here," I said, handing him back his mask. "Sorry."

Then we heard a crying sound and the guy said something. Everyone ran into the jungle.

"Uh, what just happened?" I asked.

"He said 'Move it. Into the jungle,'" Mom said.

"Yeah, I kind of meant the freaky eyeless face behind the freaky eyeless mask."

"Whatever's going on, I don't think Miranda just ran off for back up," Dad said.

"Really?" Mom asked. "Our big concern is the woman trying to capture our son?"

"I thought we were trying not to be like them."

Mom groaned. "I hate the high road."

"So do I," Sarah agreed. "Oh, and, uh, they were lying when you asked them about her."

"And you're telling us this now?" I asked.

"Are you really surprised?"

"No."

"Alright, let's look around," Mom suggested. "Fiskerton, keep an eye on Zak. If anybody shows up looking for trouble, you know what to do."

To prove it, Fiskerton screamed.

"Yeah, that's the one."

She and Dad walked off.

"Is she serious about screaming for help?" Sarah asked.

I nodded.

Then we heard a crying sound again.

"You think it's a baby Ahuizotl?" I asked.

"No," Sarah said.

"Why?"

"For two reasons: one, it's only making that sound to lure its prey. And two, if it was a baby, where's his mother?"

I shrugged. "Let's go."

Fiskerton shook his finger.

"Mom said keep an eye on me. So if we go looking for the beast with a thousand eyes, it's like you're doing your job a thousand times better."

He considered that and nodded.

"I can't believe he thinks that makes sense," Sarah said.

I shushed her.

The four of us went the way that the crying was coming from. We came to the shore of a lake.

"It's coming from the lake," I said.

The cryptid walked out of the water. He looked like a regular monkey with just two eyes in the right places.

"You must be the scary Ahuizotl. I thought you'd have a few more eyes. Come on. I'll show you mine."

I activated my powers. He walked toward me, but my powers went off.

"Come on," I said. "Stupid Kur powers. You're acting up again now?"

I tried again, but then a hand grabbed my face from behind me. Fiskerton knocked it off and I turned to face it.

"That's its tail," Sarah said.

A tail with a hand on the end. Weird.

The hand punched Fisk away. Then it moved toward me, but someone pushed me aside. It was a girl and she had on one of those freaky eyeless masks.

"Hey," I said. "What are you—"

She said something in Spanish, then pulled out one of those masks from the satchel she was carrying and put it on my face.

I lifted up the mask, but she pushed it back down.

She threw her stick like a spear at the Ahuizotl, but he knocked it away. Then she put masks on Sarah, Fiskerton, and Komodo.

"She says that the masks will protect our eyes from him," Sarah said.

"You know how to speak Spanish?" I asked.

"No."

I couldn't see anything through the mask. I felt the girl grab my hand and pulled me along. I had no choice but to follow. I hope everybody else was able to too.

Since I couldn't see where she was taking me, I doubt she could either. We ran into something and fell onto our butts.

"Zak?" I heard Mom say.

"Mom, we found—"

The girl said something.

The cryptid had followed us. He appeared right in front of us. The girl said something again and Mom replied back in the same language.

"Doc, she said—"

"Yeah, I got that one," he said.

The Ahuizotl walked around us.

A moment later, I heard Mom scream in pain.

"Mom!" I called.

I took off my mask and ran to her aid.

The cryptid had its hand tail at her face and it was doing something to her eyes. Fiskerton tackled him, then I attacked him along with Dad. Sarah and Komodo were helping Mom with the cryptid's tail. Dad grabbed his tail, spun him around, and threw him.

He ran.

We gathered around Mom.

She was rubbing her eye. "It felt like that thing was trying to suck my eye right out of the socket."

"It was," the girl said.

"Thank you, umm . . ."

"Tiacaban. Tica. And the monster, he is called Ahuizotl. It steals eyes."

I cringed. "Nasty."

Tica nodded in agreement. "This monster, he was gone for hundreds of years, but for some reason, he wakes up again, say, six months past. We don't know why."

I automatically felt guilty. Sarah tried comforting me.

"It's not your fault, Zak," Dad said. "You never asked for what happened to your Kur powers six months ago."

"Your dad's right," Sarah agreed.

"Ahuizotl takes eyes from most people in my village," Tica said. "We who still have eyes always have fear. Maybe we lose ours too."

"So, these masks, they keep it away?" Mom asked.

"It is not possible to wear masks all the time. Most times, like tonight, we would only for the ceremony of—I do not approve. This Ahuizotl still, he needs eyes."

"And he'll take them from anyone you can give him?"

She nodded.

"Miranda," Dad said.

"Told you," Sarah said. "But we should probably thank you people for sacrificing her eyes."

"Sarah," I said.

"What? It's not like she doesn't deserve it."

"I am sorry," Tica said.

"Hey, people do a lot of things when they're scared," I said. "But you can help us stop it. We can do this."

"I don't want to do this," Sarah said.

We ignored her.

"Still, there is time," Tica said.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Everyone else followed.

She led us to a temple, stopped near the entrance, and gave us all masks.

"How can I find Ahuizotl if I'm blind?" I asked.

"It's not that bad," Dad said. "I've been halfway there for years."

"I know, Dad, but I won't be able to connect with my cryptid powers. I always make eye contact."

"Then we'll just have to stop this one without your powers," Mom said.

I reluctantly agreed.

"I'm not going to where this, though I can probably use my powers to see through it," Sarah said.

She activated her powers and summoned a pair of purple sunglasses to her hands. They had a loop around the lens so they covered her eyes completely.

"That's better."

We, unfortunately, still had to where the masks.

Tica and Sarah led us inside the temple. We lifted our masks up to see around us. The village people were standing around a pool, and hanging above the center of it was Dr. Grey, and her mouth was taped shut. The Ahuizotl was in the water and he moved his hand tail around her face.

She struggled to get free.

"Too late," Tica said. "Cover your eyes."

"Nah," I said.

I grabbed the claw and activated my powers.

That got Ahuizotl's attention. He got out of the pool.

"Can you get it under control?" Dad asked.

"Not sure," I said. "But I can get it away from all these people. Tica, get everybody out of here."

She did as I told her.

I focused back on the cryptid. "Come on, Nasty. Eyes on the prize."

We ran into a different room and the Ahuizotl followed. Then my powers shut off again.

"I lost it."

The room was dark. Sarah summoned a light for us.

"It's above us," she said.

The Ahuizotl lunged its tail at me and I dodged it.

"Blind it is," I said.

We all put our masks on.

Fisk sounded uneasy.

"It's ok, Fisk," I assured him. "Just stay close."

"Quietly," Dad said. "Let your ears do the work your eyes can't."

"To your right!" Sarah called.

Of course, she's the only one that can actually see.

I heard Dad groan, then I think he punched something. The Ahuizotl kept hitting us, and Sarah was trying to help us, but she wasn't doing a good job.

"Does anyone else think this really isn't working?" Mom asked.

"Tight defensive circle," Dad said. "Form up on me. Just follow the voice. Nice and easy."

Sarah was actually able to help us this time.

"That's everybody," Dad said. "Just keep it tight, and only strike forward."

"So, this is the whole plan?" Mom asked.

"It's a working process."

"Uh, Doc?" Sarah said. "The Ahuizotl has it's tail on your shoulder."

"Ah, crud."

Dad got knocked away and we were separated from each other again.

I was fighting the cryptid. Then I could, somehow, sense that Fiskerton lifted his mask up and the Ahuizotl went after him.

"Fisk, no," I said. "Don't take off your mask."

Then my powers suddenly activated and I could sense exactly where the cryptid, plus Komodo and Fiskerton, were.

"Whoa. Freaky."

"Zak, what's going on?" Mom asked.

"I don't know. It's like—" I sensed Komodo walking right next to me. "Komodo? Yeah. It's my Kur powers."

"Keep the mask on, Zak," Dad said.

"I am, but I'm connected anyway. It's like I can see them without seeing them."

I ran forward at the Ahuizotl with the claw ready because I could sense it about to attack Fiskerton.

I whacked it away.

"Nice," Sarah said.

"Oh, yeah," I agreed. "This Kur power Zak likes."

I ran toward the cryptid again, but then I tripped on a rock and my powers went off.

Sarah laughed. "Smooth."

"Zak!" Dad called.

I stood up and my powers reactivated. "I'm fine. I just lost the connection for a second."

The Ahuizotl jumped at me and I knocked it away. I did it again.

"Not so tough in a fair fight, huh?" I said.

He lunged at me with his claws and I blocked them.

"Keep him busy, Zak," Mom said.

My pleasure. Sarah and I fought him.

"This is it," I heard Mom say. "This is where Ahuizotl was buried. If we get him back inside, we may be able to—"

Ahuizotl jumped over us and headed toward her.

"I lost him," I said. "Mom, your mask!"

Too late.

A moment later, she screamed in pain.

"Mom!"

"Drew!" Dad called.

I heard what sounded like him being knocked away.

"Hey!" I called, then took off my mask and activated my powers again. "These ones. These are the ones you want, right?"

"Zak, no!" Mom said, but I didn't listen.

I ran to him and tackled him into the room of his tomb. We had a little stand off.

"Yeah, that's right," I told him. "I'm in your twisted head, and I know the whiny baby needs a nap. Come on back to your tomb."

I sensed him moving his tail around it and behind me. When its hand began moving to my face, I grabbed it with the claw without ever looking.

"Told you I was in your head," I said.

I spun his tail around enough to pull him into his tomb. I held him down, then I controlled Fisk to get the lid of the tomb and place it on top of him.

I deactivated my powers.

Fiskerton crossed his arms.

"Sorry, Fisk," I said. "I needed to move fast. There wasn't time to ask."

"That kind of rhymed," Sarah said.

She and my family congratulated me.

* * *

Back in the village, we had tied up Dr. Grey, though Sarah had suggested on doing something much worse than that.

"So what do we do now?" Dr. Grey asked.

"Well, _we_ leave," Mom said. "You stay here until Tica sees we're all clear." She turned toward Tica and said something in Spanish.

"I understand," she said. "Yes."

"You'll like it here. They also believe in stopping the monster at any cost. Good thing not everybody does, huh?"

Dr. Grey looked mad when she said that.

Sarah laughed. "I'm starting to really like your mom."

"Uh, yeah," I said.

I managed to sneak back to the airship before my parents could follow. I went to the control room and turned on the video phone.

Argost appeared on it.

"My Kurling," he said. "Surprised to see me? Because, frankly, I'm surprised you still can."

"The beast with a thousand eyes?" I asked.

"I never said they were all his. I must admit, deep down, I was hoping he'd add yours to his collection. No eyes, no way to use that wonderful power of yours."

I gritted me teeth.

"So helpless a target for an enterprising television host."

"That's not how it works anymore," I said.

"Ah, then I did teach you something about your powers. What a treasure troll of helpful information I am. Still a pity you couldn't lose the eyes anyway."

I turned off the video phone. Then my parents and Sarah entered the room.

"Umm, hey, guys," I said. "What's—"

"What's on television?" Mom said. "Gosh, I don't know. You're the Weird World expert."

"So we're not gonna just let that one slide in the glow of victory?"

"What were you thinking, Zak?" Dad asked. "I didn't like it before, but at least that was a naïve mistake. You know what Argost has tried to do to us, you especially. How can you support that maniac's TV show?"

I felt guilty, and I could tell Sarah did too.

"I—It's not what you—" I sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't even know what to tell you. So what's the damage?"

"Well, for starters, let's just say you won't be watching TV for a _very_ long time."

We took flight.

Mom detached the TV and threw it out the window.

"I never agreed to get rid of it!" Dad exclaimed.

"Too bad," Mom said. "This is the only way we can make sure that Zak won't watch it behind our backs again."

Sarah laughed. "That was awesome!" Then her smile faded. "Oh. Umm, I'm going to go apologize to my mom. I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Ok," I said.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek, then teleported away.

The TV may be gone, but I'll find a way to watch Argost's show. I always do.

* * *

 **Lol. I loved this last scene with Drew. That's why she's one of my favorites.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	50. I Learn a Little More About my Mom

**Sarah's POV**

I found my parents at home. I guess they ended their beach vacation early.

"Mom?" I called.

"Sarah, you're here," she replied, coming out into the living room. "How'd it go?"

"Ok. Can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

"I'll leave you two alone," Dad said, and he left the room.

"Mom, I'm sorry about yelling at you the way I did earlier," I said.

She held up her hand. "It's ok. I kind of don't blame you. Just be glad I'm not like my mom. She never would've let you yell at her like that, especially not in public."

"You don't talk about her much. What happened between you two?"

"Sarah, you know I don't like talking about my past, especially not my childhood past."

"Please."

Mom sighed. "Fine. As you may have already heard me say many times before, my family was full of shit. My mom and I got along ok, but my relationship with her was nowhere near like my relationship with you. I didn't want us to have that kind of mother-daughter relationship. I just wanted to get as far away from her as I could."

"Why?"

Mom's expression tightened. "My mom wasn't a very easy person to like. Of course, I guess I'm not either, which is where I get it from, but I'm not that hard to get along with. And my mom did to me I would never do to you."

"Are you saying she abused you?" I asked.

"No," Mom replied angrily, like she's been asked that before and doesn't like it. "I mean, my mom would smack sometimes, but only when I deserved it, and it rarely ever happened."

"Was there a time she did smack you when you didn't deserve it?"  
"Well, my mom told me about one time that she had smacked me when I was little for something that she thought I did, but it was my twin brother that actually did it, and she regretted smacking me. She doesn't remember what it was about, and I don't remember it at all. I mean, I do remember something when I was seven, but I don't remember her deciding that I had done it, and I especially don't remember her smacking me for it. And she found out that my brother had done it just a few days after it happened, but she said she found out months later, so they must've been different instances. But she was sorry for smacking me because she thought I did it. But that's why I don't do anything physical to you or Zack when you do something wrong so that if it turns out you didn't do it, I wouldn't feel guilty for inflicting pain on you. And I deal with abused children all the time, so that helps too, because it really pains me to think of ever doing anything like that to my own children. But, anyway, no. My mom never abused me. I may have felt like I was emotionally abused by her, because she was very impatient, but just because I felt that way, doesn't mean that I actually was. Even now, I'm not sure. But my mom was a good mom. She protected me and my brothers, even if it was a pain in the ass. But I very rarely ever got away from her, especially since I was homeschooled. The only thing I kind of always had to get away was bowling, which is probably another reason why I like it so much. And my first job, too."

"Didn't you have some friends?" I asked.

"Well, a lot of the kids in the neighborhood I lived in most of my childhood didn't like me," Mom said. "And I did have one friend that I lost twice, which my mom blames me for because I told her what happens in my life. And I had a couple of other friends, one who lived in a different state, but I wasn't that close with either of them. I just kept to myself most of the time. Any problems I had I dealt with on my own. I was lonely, but I never really felt lonely. I actually liked being alone, because I didn't feel like I was ever left alone. I never liked talking about anything serious, and I still don't. Like right now with this conversation."

"What about your dad?" I asked.

"I wasn't that close with my dad, either," Mom said. "He always stayed out of certain situations if he could, and he wasn't helpful when he didn't. He died a little less than a month before my sixteenth birthday."

"How?"

"Major heart attack. He was a heavy smoker, which is why I don't like smoking either. My dad was an ok father, but he was a terrible, lying, husband to my mom. God, I wish she divorced him. She would yell at him every damn day. But she never did."

"Why?"

"Because she loved him as her husband, but not as a person. But if she did divorce him, she wouldn't have had to deal with his shit anymore. Except for maybe with us. Well, at least she was finally free of him when he died, sort of, but I still had to listen to shit about it."

"So you hated your mom because of that?"

"I never said I hated her," Mom said. "And I didn't. I loved her. She was my mom, but we had some problems. I had a lot of repressed anger toward her. I was glad to have finally grown up and get the hell away from everybody."

"What about your brothers?" I asked.

"Most of them pretty much did the same thing and left as well, never spoken to again. I don't know what any of them did and I didn't care. Well, actually, when I was in my forties, after I became the Protector of America, I arrested one of my brothers in California."

"For what?"

"Does it matter? I arrested my own brother, who I hadn't seen or spoken to since our dad died almost thirty years before then."

"Did you know it was him?"

"Well, he did look familiar to me, but my powers confirmed it."

"Did he recognize you?"

"Not until I told him. But it doesn't matter anymore. I just want to forget it all. I wanted it to be different. I wanted my family to be different from my other family, half of whom are criminals, or at least, have some kind of criminal record. So I made a mental note on what to do with my husband and children."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well, since you're my daughter, I'm just going to tell you the children part. The thing is, when my child is angry and yelling at me, I try to calm him or her down instead of yelling back at them and making the situation worse than it already is. I would also let them have a say in anything involving them, depending on what it is of course, and try to compromise with them. I also try to bond with my children by doing things that they like to do with them. And any kind of chore the kids do, I help them with as well. Have I done all of that, Sarah?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that sounds pretty much right."

Mom smiled. "Since you're my daughter you could just be saying that to avoid getting shit, not that I would give it to you. That's what I did sometimes, and kind of still do, whether I mean it or not."

"Mom, I do mean that one-hundred-percent."

And I do.

"I would say that too when I was questioned," she said. "Though not in those exact words. But I believe you. It seems to work. But my husband plans haven't all worked. At least not with your dad. With Nick, they did. But he knew how I was before we even started dating officially."

"He must've made a mental note on how he should treat you."

"Yeah, and the first thing he probably knew that he should never do is argue with me, because it's pointless once I've made up my mind and I always tend to win."

"Yeah, but you sometimes threaten Dad."

"Only when I can't think of anything else to do. Well, it's really hard to threaten an Immortal. Let's get back our current conversation. Another thing that really touches me about our family is how well you and Zack get along. I've never seen any brother and sister get along anywhere near as well as you two get along. Especially not in my family, or even with me and my brothers. I mean, you and Zack stick up and by each other through almost anything. It was practically the opposite for us. We would always blame each other to keep ourselves out of trouble. I doubt that it's anything I did to cause you and Zack to be such a good brother-sister team. I know that it's faltered a little bit now that you two are dating other people, but it's still strong, and I'm proud of both of you for that."

I smiled. "You should've saved that for when he was here."

"You're probably right," Mom said. "Let's get on that subject now, though I really don't want to."

"Why?"

"Because it's not good."

My eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Mom took a deep breath. "Remember when I told you that teenage boys have been disappearing all over the country lately?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, most of those teenage boys have returned to their homes earlier."

"What happened to them?"

"Basically what we suspected. They were kidnapped and raped continually. They're probably going to need a lot of family support and serious therapy."

"How did they get free?"

"Some people like us—Nikki, Nicole, and their family—finally found them."

"What about Zack?"

Mom's expression pained. "I asked one of the boys that were rescued if he saw him, and he said yes."

I started to cry. "So that means he was—"

"Yeah," Mom said, also crying.

"Where is he?"

"This is the bad part. The men managed to get away, taking a couple of the boys with them, and Zack was one of them."

"So he was found, but he was taken again."

"Yes."

I was really crying now. "So what now?"

"Well, these men were the same men who raped me almost eighty years ago. They were holding the boys hostage in the Immortal world, not on earth, and that world is at least twice as big. Nikki, Nicole, and your half-siblings will continue to look for him there. I haven't been to that world much. I have no idea what's there, so I wouldn't be any help in finding him."

"So what are you going to do?" I asked.

"Well, I don't want to just sit here and wait to find out what happens to him," Mom replied. "So I was thinking of helping Doyle."

She looked at me like she was silently asking me for permission.

"You can go," I said.

She smiled. "I was going to go whether you told me I could or not. And I did help him a little bit after running into him in London, before the nagas attacked Manhattan."

"Ok. But why with Doyle?"

She sighed. "I don't know. There's something about doing this with him that feels so familiar, something I've missed for a long time."

"Was it something you had done with Nick?"

"Kind of. I mean, Doyle's not Nick in any way, but in some ways he is similar to him."

"How so?"

"I don't know. Helping Doyle with this is kind of like how Nick would help me, especially after I became the Protector of America, and I guess this is partly my way of repaying him somehow."

I felt a little guilty about that. I wanted to tell her that Nick was alive, but with the drama that was happening right now with my twin brother, I just couldn't add that onto her. Not yet, anyway.

"Well, then, I guess have fun," I said.

"You too," Mom replied.

"But Mom, before I go, can you tell me why you guys were in Mexico earlier?"

"Your dad wanted us to relax for at least one day. I objected at first, but he got me to agree to it."

"There's something that rarely ever happens. But it's like he doesn't care that Zack's gone."

"It may seem that way, Sarah, but you know he does care. I think he just hates how he can't do anything to help."

"Well, that's not our fault."

"I know," Mom said. "You should go now."

"Ok," I said. "I guess I'll see you—"

"Wait. I just remembered something from earlier."

"What?"

She had a serious look on her face. "Sarah, Shillow said that she smelt alcohol from you. Have you been drinking?"

I hesitated. "Yes."

Mom sighed. "How long?"

"A little over a week."

"Why?"

"To help with Zack being gone."

"Sarah, drinking doesn't help you at all."

"How would you know? Have you ever drank before?"

"No. But I've dealt with a drunk before, and I'm not just talking about your dad."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Well, you remember me telling you that Nick was also an alcoholic, how he was worse than your father?"

"How?"

"He raped me one time, Sarah."

I stared at her. "And you married him?"

"It was a few years before we were married, but yes," she replied. "With Nick, it was kind of between rape and consent, because I had strong feelings for him then as he did for me, but I didn't like it. It was not him. I wouldn't believe a lot of bad things someone could accuse him of unless he was drunk when he did them. He was _that_ dangerous when he drank, which is why, if we ever went out and he got a drink, I had to really watch him and cut him off, not that he minded, because he really understood it. But, other than Nick, we've both seen what people do when they're drunk. I mean, look at your dad. To him, drinking helps him, but it really doesn't. It just makes things worse. And for you? Sarah, you're not even of age. Usually, I would know when someone underage us about to drink and I would stop them before they do. But not this time, for some reason. Sarah, you have to stop. It doesn't help you at all."

"That's what you think."

I used my powers and teleported away.

I put a very tiny tracking device inside Zak a few days ago so that I would be able to find him wherever he was. It was transmitted to my phone.

I checked where he was right now and headed there. I went inside of the airship and went in the back before any of them noticed me.

I was crying. I summoned a bottle of vodka to my hands and began to drink it. I didn't care what my mom said. It helps me. Especially now that I know for sure Zack is being tormented in the worst way possible.

I cried even more thinking about that. I just want my twin brother back.

 _I'm all right, Sarah._

* * *

 **Wow. This was an intense chapter. The original title of this chapter was** _I Learn a Little More About my Mom's Childhood Past._

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	51. Into the Mouth of Darkness

**Zak's POV**

Stopping a gigantic centipede underwater when your powers aren't working sucks.

That's what me, my mom, and Sarah were trying to do.

I groaned. "What is with my powers lately?"

The giant centipede came toward us, but Dad ran into it with our sub.

"Doc, see if you can lead it out to open sea," Mom said. "We have to get into its cave."

"Mom, I've got this one," I said.

I activated my powers. It came my way, but I could barely control it.

"Just back off," I said.

It swam to the surface and a broke a guy's boat in half and knocked him into the water, taking him completely by surprise.

We swam to the surface.

"Uh, I think we just bought a boat," I said.

"We?" Mom said.

The man was really upset and Dad tried to reason with him, but he couldn't, especially since he couldn't speak his language.

"Why did I get stuck with public relations duty?" he asked us.

"Because you read Ancient Sumerian even worse than you speak Arabic," Mom replied.

We had gotten into the cave of the giant centipede.

"Just hurry up with the search, alright?" Dad said.

"I'm going to go help your dad," Sarah said. "He's gonna need it."

"Ok," I said.

She teleported herself out of the cave.

"Mom, this tablet we're after . . ."

"It's called the Epic of Gilgamesh," she said.

"Ok, but—"

"It's an ancient Sumerian record of the legendary warrior's battle with Kur. This is one of the possible resting places. See, there was a regiment Roman troops garicent in this area during the Punic years."

"Got it. But what I was trying to say is maybe some Vikings took it."

"Vikings?"

Right in front of us was a broken ship that looked like the kind Vikings used.

"Nasty," I said. "I think that Algerian Sea Centipede ate a long boat."

"Yeah, it's a hundred-and-fifty-foot predatory Arthur pad," Mom said. "It's gotta get its calories from somewhere."

Then the sea centipede suddenly appeared.

I grabbed the claw, but Mom held it back.

"How 'bout we work on your power control on something smaller?" she said. "I got this one."

She unsheathed her fire sword and attacked it. She managed to slice it to pieces, after getting herself eaten whole and regurgitated first, but not without some slimy mess. Or a lot.

We went back to the airship after an unsuccessful search with Mom covered in slim.

She groaned. "Why does it always have to be sticky and smelly?"

"Well, yacht shopping wasn't my idea of a good time either," Dad said.

Sarah laughed. "Yeah. You're just lucky that my powers can help me speak and understand any language. But you're probably going to hate me when I tell you that I could've also repaired the boat."

"Uh, was anyone else eaten and regurgitated by a giant centipede?" Mom said sarcastically. "Then we are not comparing bad days, ok?"

"Sorry, Mom," I said.

She sighed. "Not your fault, kiddo. Sorry this Kur thing's thrown us all off our game. Anyway, at least we're one step closer to finding the Epic of Gilgamesh. If the Vikings were here, that means they could've taken the tablet."

"Well, there's a 9th century trading sight in Greenland we could try," Dad suggested. "If you boys are in the mood for snow."

"Sweet," I said excitingly. "Snowball fight rematch, Fisk."

He agreed.

"As long as you don't use your claw this time," Sarah said. "I'm pretty sure we don't want the same thing to happen twice."

She was right.

"Autopilot set," Dad said. "Let's get some rest. Who knows what giant bug your mother's gonna be eaten by tomorrow."

"You think your funny?" Mom told him. "Stick with the science, funny guy."

"Actually, I thought that was good," Sarah said.

We had left the room, but Komodo didn't come, so I went back to get him.

"Come on, Komodo," I said.

I grabbed his tail and pulled him with me. Then we all headed to our rooms and went to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Sarah, Komodo, and I put on heavy clothes for the snow.

"Hope you like the taste of snowballs," I told Fisk.

"Yeah, same to you," Sarah said.

I let down the plank and we went outside. But we stopped in our tracks when we realized that there was no snow anywhere in sight, but in fact, barren desert.

We were confused.

"Zak, don't forget your—" Mom said, but faltered when she noticed the desert as well.

"Uh, Mom?" I said. "I think Greenland melted."

We went back inside the airship and Dad looked at our coordinates.

"Australia?" he said.

"I thought you set a course for Greenland last night," Mom said.

"Must be something with the nav compater. I guess we'll have to do this manually." He went to the controls. "I'll run a diagnostic."

He did and it showed that one of our engines was not working.

"I don't like that diagnostic."

We went to check it out. There was smoke coming out of it.

"Odd," Dad said. "How could that have—"

He faltered when we heard a noise from inside.

"What is it?" I asked.

"There's something in there."

"I sense a creature in there," Sarah said.

Sure enough, a creature came out and jumped onto Dad's face. Dad struggled to get it off of him and it eventually did. Then more of the little creatures appeared.

"Aww, they're so cute," Sarah said.

They jumped onto of the railing, one of them saluted to us, and they hopped away.

"Uh, what just happened?" I asked.

Mom looked at her Cryptipedia. "Yep. That's what I thought. Bunyips. Mischievous, but harmless. Well, except for the fact they have a taste for electronics."

"Good thing Pikachu isn't here," Sarah said.

She made a little electricity ball and threw it to one of the bunyips. It ate it happily.

"They probably infested the ship by now," Dad said. "We have to keep all the important tech away from them."

"I'll go lock up," Mom said.

And off she went.

"And I'll work on the engine," Dad said. "I need my tools, though."

One of the bunyips came back and handed him his wrench.

"Thanks," he said without seeing who gave it to him.

"Uh, Dad?" I said.

He looked and noticed the cryptid. It dropped the wrench on his foot and ran off.

Sarah laughed.

She, Fisk, Komodo, and I decided to leave Dad alone and went off exploring. We came across a run-down farm and looked inside one of the barns. The bunyips were also playing around there with a wheel barrel.

"So, interesting little guys, huh?" I said. "Mom did say I should test my powers on something a little smaller."

One of them was watching us from behind something. I grabbed my video phone and held it up to it.

"Here, boy," I said. "Nice juicy technology."

It inched forward.

"That's it. Here, fella."

It jumped on me and I dropped the video phone. The bunyip then ran off and hid.

"Nice try," I said. "But I don't need to see you to sense you anymore."

I activated my powers, but then they all started freaking out.

"They're terrified of something. Something here. Close."

Sarah looked at me with a sad look on her face, possibly pity. But before I could ask her what was wrong, the bunyips ran out of the barn.

"Follow them," I said. "Let's see what's going on."

They ran into a mine, but I stopped myself before going in.

"Hey, you know who loves pitch black creepy mines?" I said. "Mom and Dad. Maybe we should get them."

"Scardy cat," Sarah said. "Seriously, Zak? I mean, come on. Out of all the stuff you do without your parents, you won't do this?"

Then a sound came from inside the mine. We went to get my parents and then headed inside the mine.

"Let's get some light here," Dad said.

He powered up his glove and a light glowed from it. He held it in front of us and we noticed a lot of bunyips sitting on crates.

"Ok, that's creepy," Dad said.

A bunyip climbed up his back, which surprised him, then it took his glove.

"Hey!" Dad said.

It ran off with his glove, wearing it on its head like a hat.

"Get back here!"

He chased after it, and Komodo did too.

Sarah laughed.

"So, if we ever wanna see your father again, we'll need some lower tech lights from the airship," Mom said.

"On it," I said. "Come on, Fisk, Sarah."

We headed back to the airship.

* * *

When we got there, a bunyip ran past us. We followed it into the kitchen where there were a lot more of them playing with all the electronics and the food. One dropped a box on another riding a mixer like a unicycle. It laughed, but then another threw a box at it and knocked it away.

Sarah laughed.

Then another opened a bag of flour and dumped it on top of a fan on the ceiling that was on and directly above our heads. We were completely covered.

"My hair," Sarah whinnied, trying to dust it off.

"Don't think they're cute or funny anymore now, do ya?" I asked.

"Oh, shut up."

We went into another room, dusting ourselves off along the way, and I noticed the door was open.

"Huh," I said. "I wonder how the bunyips unlocked the door."

"Zak," Sarah said, sounding serious.

I looked in front of us and was startled at who I saw.

"Greetings and bienvenue, young Kur," Argost said.

Fiskerton looked like he was about to attack him, but I held him back.

"What are you doing here, Argost?" I asked. "You're suppose to talk to me through Weird World."

"And miss out on all the quality face time? After all the trouble I put into bringing you here."

"Wait. You brought us here?"

"Well, the bunyips did most of the work. I knew when I dropped them into your airship that those precautious little savages would find their way home."

"Why am I here?" I asked.

"To find the monster in the mines, naturally," Argost replied. "You wish to learn about your Kur nature. That creature will be your best lesson yet."

"Ok. I'll find your monster. But if my parents see you, there's gonna be a fight, and you know which side I'm gonna be on."

"See how I tingle with anticipation."

"Zak, did you find anything?" I heard my mom calling.

"Quick, you have to get out of here," I said.

I pushed him into a closet and closed the door.

Mom entered the room. "Oh, there you are. Did you see the torches that Malory gave us? I could've sworn they were in here."

"Uh, torches?" I said. "Nope. Didn't see any." My heart was beating really fast. "Fisk? Sarah?"

They shook their heads.

Mom came to the closet that I was blocking her from.

"Uh, they're not in there," I said. "Nothing's in there. I hear it's seven years bad luck if you open a closet indoors."

Sarah face palmed herself and shook her head. "You're really pushing it."

I glared at her.

"What?" Mom asked me.

She put her hand on the knob.

"Mom, wait," I panicked.

She opened the closet. I looked in it. Argost somehow wasn't in there, but what we were looking for was.

"Well, would you look at that," I said in a little bit of a high voice. "There's torches in there."

 _He's good_ , Sarah told me telepathically. _You're so damn lucky. For now._

 _I know_ , I replied, also through telepathy. _And what do you mean by 'For now'?_

She didn't answer.

* * *

Mom made me carry all the torches back to the mine by myself. Fiskerton stifled a laugh, but Sarah insisted on helping me carry them.

We were walking by a tower when Argost suddenly fell out of it.

"Madam?" he told Mom, who was standing right in front of him.

"Argost?" she asked.

I became nervous.

Mom unsheathed her fire sword, then kicked him, knocking him into a tractor and up on it. He jumped off it. Then a bunyip got on to it and drove it around crazily. Mom was too distracted by it that she didn't see Argost charging at her and he tackled her.

"Zak, what are you doing?" she asked.

The one time she wants me to help fight him.

"Huh? Right," I said, then put down the torches and grabbed the claw. "Fisk, yo-yo me."

He grabbed the cable of the claw and swung me at Argost. I knocked him right into the wooden leg of a water tower. It broke and the water fell over, luckily, not over toward us. One of the bunyips rolled a surfboard over Argost.

Mom ran toward him.

"Alas, our time is cut short," he said. "And if the seven claws of the goolon do their job properly, you will be too."

He threw some metal spikes at Mom, but she hit them all away with her fire sword. Then he ran away.

"Come on," Mom said.

We ran after him. He ran into the mine. But before we could follow in, a lot of debris suddenly fell and boulders blocked the entrance.

"Doc!" Mom called.

"Komodo's also in there," Sarah said, sounding offended for him.

We ran over to the pile of boulders and began digging them out of it. Eventually, Dad's hand broke through.

"Hold on," I said. "We're gonna get you out."

Then we heard a sound from down the mine and Argost laughing.

"Zak, Fisk, Sarah, keep digging," Mom said. "We can't let Argost reach whatever cryptid's down here."

And she ran off.

"Fisk, keep digging," I said. "I think Argost is trying to lead me to the monster."

I grabbed Sarah's hand and ran off ourselves. We caught up with Mom and she noticed us.

"Why do I even bother telling you things anymore?" she complained.

"I'm wondering that myself," Sarah said.

Then the room began to shake. Argost suddenly appeared, ridding those mine things on tracks, which we were standing on.

We jumped out of the way just in time before he hit us. Then we noticed another mine thing on a different track right next to the other.

I looked at Mom.

"You know, we really shouldn't," she said. "We don't know what shape the track is in or even where it goes."

"Yeah, but when's the next time we're gonna be chasing a super villain in a silver mine?" I asked.

Sarah and I climbed in to it. Mom pushed it to get it moving and then jumped in herself. We were moving somewhat slowly, but eventually picked up speed.

"That's my boy," Mom said.

We caught up to Argost.

"We draw ever closer to our monster," he said. "Can you feel it, little Kurling?"

"Don't ever speak to my son, you freak," Mom said, unsheathing her fire sword.

"Oh, tisk tisk. Name calling is so unbecoming. And to think I was able to tell you to hang on to something."

We didn't know what he meant until we looked ahead and suddenly dropped down a hill on our side of the tracks. We desperately held on. Then the track went back up and we were right next to Argost again.

Mom slashed her sword at him, but he dodged easily. Then, I guess, her sword hit the ceiling of the mine and it got knocked out of her hand, but I grabbed it just before she could lose it. Then Argost grabbed her and pulled her over his way. I slingshot the claw at him, hitting his head, and he let go of her. But before the claw could fully retract, he grabbed onto it and pulled me toward him.

"Zak!" Mom said

She grabbed me and pulled back.

Sarah threw a fire ball at Argost and he let me go. Then he disappeared.

"Where is he?" Mom asked.

"I can't tell," I said. "It sounds like there's another cart above us, but it could just be our echo."

"Room for one more?" Argost said, jumping into our cart from out of no where.

He pushed us aside and broke our break lever.

"And, once more, a sure."

He jumped back into his cart passing by ours.

We looked ahead of us and our track had about a ten foot gap in it.

"It's a good angle," Mom said. "We'll make it."

I wasn't so sure of that.

I wrapped my arm around Sarah. "Grab my mom."

"But Zak, she—"

"Now!"

I slingshot the claw onto the ceiling.

Sarah grabbed my mom and the three of us were pulled out of the cart. We watched our cart go over the gap and back onto the track across.

"You just never listen to me," Mom told me.

We were still watching the cart when it suddenly crashed.

"Ok, fine," Mom conceded. "That's one for you."

Sarah laughed.

"Now, come on. Whatever cryptid is down here, we can't let Argost find it first."

We ran down a path going parallel to the tracks.

"Why is it so hot?" I asked.

"Maybe the creature has some sort of incubation near by," Mom said.

"Or maybe because we're near a volcano," Sarah said.

"I've already found the beast, Saturdays," we heard Argost say, his coming from somewhere around us. "And it is glorious."

"That sounded close," Mom said.

"It's everything I dreamed it would be. Even to the very core."

"This way."

We ran down a tunnel.

"I can't wait to take it outside and play," Argost continued.

Then he appeared.

He charged at Mom, but she kicked him away. Then she picked up a shovel lying on the ground, for reasons I don't know because she still had her fire sword, and walked toward him.

"You'll never unlock the secrets without me," Argost told me.

I knew he was right.

"I'll take my chances," Mom told him.

I hated this, but I had to stop her.

I looked around. There was a slipknot rope held down by a sand bag.

"Zak, don't," Sarah said.

I knew I should've listened to her, but I didn't.

I moved behind Mom. When she was distracted with Argost, I slipped the rope onto her foot, then cut it from the sand bag with the claw. The rope retracted and lifted Mom into the air.

Argost ran.

"It's ok, Mom," I said. "I've got him."

Sarah and I ran after him.

"Zak, wait," Mom called, but we didn't stop.

Once we caught up with Argost, I activated my powers.

"No more games, Argost," I said. "Take me to the monster now."

The bunyips were behind him and they looked scared. I sensed around, but couldn't feel any other cryptid's presence.

"Yes, power of junior Kur," Argost said. "Reach out. The monster is close."

"There's nothing there," I said. "I feel nothing but the bunyips fear."

"Very good. There's no one here but you, your girlfriend, me, and our little friends."

"But the breathing . . ."

"Merely the fire gasping for precious oxygen. This mountain rests on a bed of cold that's been ablaze for a hundred years."

"Then what are they sacred of?"

"My dear boy, you've lied to your parents, betrayed your own mother, and you're about to let the villain walk out of here so Mommy and Daddy don't learn the truth about our business relationship. I brought you here to discover a monster, and so you have."

I walked up to the bunyips and they coward away from me.

"You planned this," I said.

"There's a reason there are no happy heroic tales of Kur," Argost said. "Congratulations on completing another lesson."

I didn't know if I should be glad I completed it or not. Then a rope dropped next to me.

"Zak, are you alright?" Mom called down. "Can you see Argost?"

"He's . . ." I hesitated. "He's gone, Mom."

He smirked.

I grabbed onto the rope with one hand and Sarah with the other. Mom pulled us up and we left the mine along with the rest of our family.

* * *

We went back to the airship.

Dad fixed the engine and revved it on.

"Now that's the sound of success," he said. "Alright. Let's run a diagnostic before we get airborne."

Up on the screen, something popped up.

"Odd. It says our computer data banks were recently accessed. Zak, do you know anything about this?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," I said. "I was trying to load up a video game. Sorry."

"Just be careful with that main frame, son. There's a lot of valuable information on there."

I have a feeling that that's what Argost was looking for was valuable information to use against me. Like I'm trying to get to use against him.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "Sure thing, Dad."

I left the room and Fiskerton and Sarah followed.

What Argost said earlier about me deceiving my parents, which was true, really effected me badly.

"I have got to stop listening to that freak," I said.

"I agree," Sarah said. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to stop watching his show. I hate doing what I'm doing to my parents, and I want it to stop."

Sarah kissed me. "I'm glad, because I hate it too."

I half smiled.

That was the last time I am ever listening to Argost.

* * *

 **I really liked some of the funny moments between Zak and Drew in this episode.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	52. I Hear My Missing Twin Brother's Voice

**Sarah's POV**

Augh! Why is it so damn hard to write this song? I've never taken so long to write one song before. Maybe if I stop drinking it would help me think straight. I haven't drank anything today and my thoughts did seem clearer.

I played my guitar. I managed to write a couple good verses, but I need a chorus, and my mind just goes blank. While spending a lot of time playing my guitar, I even came up with a good tune, and it sounds great with the verses.

Now if only I had a damn chorus.

"Can you think of any lyrics I can use?" I asked Komodo.

He just stared at me.

"You're really no help."

He made a little noise and laid his head on my knee.

Lately, Komodo's been down here with me and listens to me play. He always finds me, but Zak can't always. It's probably because of my aura. Though, since Zak is Kur, that should help him find me a little bit more easily.

"Sarah?" a voice called to me.

I looked across the room and noticed Zak's mom enter the room.

"Oh. Hi, Drew," I said.

"Hi. You needed to speak to me?"

"Well, I don't _need_ to, I just want to since you're kind of the only person I know who understands what I'm going through right now."

"Ok. And what is that?"

I put my guitar down and prepared myself for this conversation.

"Drew, before last summer and during your years as a kid, did you think that you'd ever find Doyle again?"

Her eyes narrowed.

She sat down next to me. "No. I hoped I would, but after so many years, I eventually lost all hope of ever finding him again."

"But you did find him," I said. "And when you did, you were glad, right?"

"At first I was, but seeing how he and Doc didn't get along, it was hard. But they managed to stand each other after a while. And I'm still glad that I found him. I know Zak is."

We both laughed.

"But why did you want to know about what I felt during my brother's long absence, if you don't mind me asking?"

I hesitated. I felt like I could tell her, though I didn't know why. I mean, I didn't want to tell Zak, but I want to tell his mother? That was kind of weird.

I took a deep breath. "My brother—my twin brother, Zack—is missing. You remember him, right?"

Drew nodded.

I told her the whole story, even the part about him being raped. I just wish I could've explained it without crying. But I've gotta say, Drew was a good listener.

"I'm afraid I'll never see him again," I said. "I mean, those men have been on the run for years. They could hold my twin brother hostage for years, too."

"You really love your brother, don't you?" Drew said.

I nodded. "We've literally been together our whole lives."

"Sarah, I know it seems like you'll never see him again, but I know you will."

"How do you know?"

"I never thought I'd see Doyle again, but I have. Granted, I waited two decades, but you and Zack have a strong bond. A bond like that can never be broken for long."

I smiled. "Thanks, Drew."

"You're welcome. But I can't imagine what your mother must be going through knowing that her son is being victimized like that. I don't know what I would do if that were to happen to Zak."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'll leave you alone now," Drew said, getting up from where she was sitting.

"Thanks again, Drew," I said. "And can you not tell Zak or anybody else about my twin brother?"

"Of course not."

"Thanks. And you better not tell anybody either."

Komodo looked offended by that.

Drew laughed. "I'll see you later, Sarah."

"You too."

And she left the room.

I really enjoyed our conversation. She's cool, but not quite as cool as my mom.

I summoned a small bottle of vodka to my hands and drank it. I gave up no longer drinking it. I liked vodka better than anything else. It's not quite as strong. After I finished that bottle, I summoned another one.

I twisted the cap off and raised it to my lips.

 _Sarah, don't_ , a voice said.

I looked around the room, but didn't see anybody. A moment later I realized that the voice came from inside my head.

And I recognized it.

 _I'm alright._

 _Zack?_ I asked.

I heard his voice a couple weeks ago, but I thought it was the alcohol making me hear things that wasn't there. I still think that now, but I wasn't so sure.

 _Sarah, I'm fine,_ he said.

"How can I know you're fine if I don't even see you?" I asked out loud.

"He is fine, Sarah," another voice said, this time not in my head. "At least, now he is."

Komodo lifted his head and growled.

I turned toward her and almost did the same thing. "Danielle. What do you want?"

"Not to fight this time," she replied, walking over to me.

Komodo growled the more closer she got.

"Komodo, stay back," I said. "For now, anyway."

He did as I said.

I turned back toward Danielle. "How do you know that Zack is fine?"

"Because I'm your evil clone, and evil clones know more than their original selves," she replied.

"If Zack is fine, then where is he?"

"Recuperating while still being somewhat held hostage. But in a good way."

"How can being held hostage be good?"

"It depends on who's holding you hostage. You'll see him soon."

"When?"

"Soon."

"Can you at least tell me where he is?"

"All I can tell you is that he's no longer being victimized and that he's safe with who he's with now. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to go."

"Fine. Then go. Thanks for nothing, bitch."

She teleported away.

"God, she's annoying," I said.

 _Was she lying about Zack being fine?_ I asked my powers.

 _Zack told you himself,_ they replied. _So no._

Zack's ok and hopefully safe too. I should be grateful for that at least.

And I heard his voice inside my head . . .

That gave me an idea for the chorus to my song. I summoned my music booklet, a pen, and started writing.

* * *

 **I liked the part with Sarah and Drew. That was kind of cool. But who do you guys think Zack is safe with?**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	53. The Legion of Garuda

**Zak's POV**

Coming to a cemetery at night where there's a thunderstorm moving in is not a good thing, but it ended up working good for us when we got attacked.

"That's the one," Dad said, pointing to a grave about ten feet away.

We walked toward it.

"Really?" I asked. "The Epic of Gilgamesh got taken out of a giant Algerian Sea Centipede's cave by some guy named Olaf?"

"King Olaf," Mom corrected. "And, if my source is right, yes."

Dad and Fiskerton began digging up the grave.

I noticed Sarah was looking around uneasily.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "I don't know, but I don't think we'll be leaving here peacefully."

Lightning shot across the sky.

"The storm's getting close, Dad," I said. "Either that, or Thor, god of thunder, doesn't like us grave robbing for Vikings."

"We're not grave robbing," he said. "We're grave borrowing. And if the Epic of Gilgamesh helps us solve our Kur problem, I'll risk Thor's wrath."

Sarah laughed. "Good luck with that."

Dad and Fiskerton opened up the casket, and lying in it was a skeleton holding a tablet.

"That's it," Mom said.

Dad picked it up and gave it to her.

"Whoa," I said. "I guess your source was right."

"Unfortunately, it was also a big talker," a voice said behind us.

Dr. Beeman, Dr. Grey, and Professor Mizuki and his pet tiger appeared and had us surrounded.

"Ask enough questions about an artifact and it eventually gets out that you're looking for it," Dr. Grey said.

"If you know we're here for the Epic of Gilgamesh, then you know why we want it," Dad said.

"Like they care," Sarah growled.

"Hoping to find some magic mumble cure for Kur?" Dr. Beeman said. "Sorry, Doc. That's an irrational dream you would've only mocked six months ago."

"Six months ago the Secret Scientists would never have tried to put an eleven-year-old boy in an cryogenic deep freeze," he retorted, putting on his power glove.

"Well, I guess things have changed."

Then we heard something from directly above us.

"Move!" Dad said.

We all got out of the grave just in time before Deadbolt landed on us. He turned toward us and showed us his new upgrade.

"Nice upgrade," I said.

He shot bullets at us like he was a built-in machine gun, which he kind if was. We ran, but Komodo wasn't fast enough and he got knocked off his feet.

"Fiskerton, grab Komodo," Dad said. "We can loose them in the trees."

Fisk picked up Komodo and we ran. The Secret Scientists followed.

"Head for the airship."

Then the white tiger pounced on me, and we tumbled down a hill.

"Zak!" Dad called.

I fought the tiger and he fought back. Then Dr. Grey used her teleportation device and we fell into Deadbolt's arms.

"No!" Mom called.

"Fall back, Deadbolt," Dr. Grey said. "We'll hold the others off."

He did as she said.

"Let me go!" I said, struggling to get free.

"I'll get him to let you go," Sarah said, appearing out of no where, along with Fiskerton.

They kicked him away and he let me go.

"Nice," I said.

We got back with my family and ran, but then Dr. Grey shot portals from her teleportation device above our heads, had Deadbolt shoot his bullets from one above him, and shot them down on us. Sarah summoned a force field around us to protect us from most of them.

"How many of those things does he have in here?" Mom complained.

"It's a machine gun," Sarah said. "So, a lot."

I had an idea.

"Fisk, throw me at Deadbolt," I said.

He shook his head.

"Just do it."

He didn't continue to argue and did as I said. Deadbolt caught me, and if robots could look confused, he sure did.

"You like making it rain, huh?" I said. "Tell me how much you like being a lightning rod."

I stuck my claw into the base of his neck, then slingshot it up at the sky. I jumped off of him and moved far away just before lightning struck the claw, going down the cable, and shocking Deadbolt. His machine guns went off, hitting the Secret Scientists right next to him and knocking them out, then himself.

I retrieved the claw, which didn't seem to be damaged at all. "Huh. I guess Thor's on our side."

Sarah gave me a kiss. "That was amazing."

I smiled. "It's what I do best."

* * *

We got back to the airship and took off. Then Mom studied the Epic of Gilgamesh.

"I hope that tablet was worth it," Dad said.

"It's exactly what we hoped it would be," Mom said. "Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"It says Gilgamesh traveled the ancient world to find any way of stopping Kur. He finally found it in what would now be Jaipur, India."

"So what was it?" I asked. "What worked?"

"The Legion of Garuda. Jadawalas, magicians. Their magic's were able to drive the spirit of Kur from this world."

"How did they do it?" Dad asked.

"That's where the 'kind of' comes in. It doesn't say."

"Of course it doesn't," Sarah said.

"Wait," I said. "If the spirit of Kur is the problem, couldn't we just get the Kur part _out_ of me somehow?"

"No more running and fighting," Mom said. "Take out the Kur, and there's nothing but Zak left. Then we can finally get this family back to normal."

Fiskerton was having a hard time opening a bag of chips, and when he finally did get it open, chips went all over the place.

"Well, I mean, our kind of normal."

Sarah laughed.

"Then we head to India," Dad said. "If there's any remnant of this Legion of Garuda left, we'll find them."

So we headed off to our next destination.

* * *

When we got to Jaipur, we stopped at a library first for a little information.

"You check the facts, we get the streets," Dad told Mom, giving her a stack of books.

She read over them.

"Umm, I think I'm going to stay and help your mom," Sarah told me. "You guys go. We'll let you know if we find anything useful."

"You sure?" I asked.

She nodded. "She could use my help. Plus, I like to read, and it could be a good bonding with her."

I gave her a kiss on the cheek, and me, Dad, Fisk, and Komodo went off. We asked one person to another about the Legion of Garuda, but got nothing.

"Zak!" Mom called.

She and Sarah were running our way.

"We find a few secure references, but nothing concrete. You?"

"No one knows," dad said. "Or no one's talking."

"Any ideas for a next step?"

A little girl walked into me.

"Excuse me. Sorry," I apologized.

She turned and faced me. She had her hair covering one of her eyes. She gestured for me to follow her. Then a bus was coming her way, but it wasn't stopping or moving to avoid her and she didn't notice.

"Look out!" I called.

The little girl disappeared and the bus moved over the spot from where she was standing just a moment ago.

"What? Dad, did you just—"

"I did," he said. "And now she's over there."

I looked over an saw her again. She was standing in front of an alley, still gesturing me to follow her, then she ran down the alley. We followed her.

Halfway down it, the girl ran up to a man.

"You," I told him. "You were watching us."

"I am Gokul," he said. "And I believe I may be of assistance to you."

"You can help us find the Legion of Garuda?" Mom asked.

"I cannot help you find what you have already found. I am the head master of the Legion."

"The head master lives here?" I asked in disbelief.

Mom and Dad glared at me.

"Ah, good question," Gokul said.

"Actually, a rude question," Mom corrected. "I apologize for my son. Zak, the Jadawalas aren't concerned with material possessions."

"Of course we are. We just know how to hide them. Look again, young man, from my perspective."

I looked ahead and saw the buildings suddenly change to a palace.

"How?" I asked.

"A good Jadawala never reveals his secrets," Gokul said.

The little girl walked by and she disappeared.

"That is so cool," I said.

"Like you haven't seen something like that before," Sarah muttered.

"But, wait. So is it really rundown or is it a palace?"

"That is the real question, isn't it?" Gokul said. "Come."

He led us inside and served us all tea. We sat cross-legged around a table.

"Master Gokul," Mom said. "Your sect, I hope, it still familiar with the creature called Kur?"

"That is a name you need not fear," he replied. "Kur has been banished for millennia."

"Yeah, well, you might wanna sit down for this."

"I'm already sitting."

"Then you might want to get into the full lotus." She took a deep breath. "Kur is back, and he's my son."

"Hi," I said.

"Don't sound happy about it, because we all know you're not," Sarah said.

Gokul studied me. "Yes. I can see this now."

"The Epic of Gilgamesh claims the Legion knows the way to drive out the spirit of Kur," Mom said. "Can you do this? Can you get Kur out of my son?"

"Yes. But I cannot perform the ceremony without the Flute of Gilgamesh. It's sweet songs will be essential to driving Kur from your child."

"We'll get you anything you need," Dad said. "Where is this flue?"

"Stolen. Centuries ago by those who would prevent the ceremony from ever being performed again. To retrieve the flute, you will have to challenge the power of the naga."

I was drinking my tea when he said that last part and I spit it out.

"Well, there's a shock," Sarah said sarcastically, then she stood up. "Alright. Let's go get it."

And she walked out of the palace.

My family and I followed.

* * *

We were back at the Chao Phraya River in Thailand, right above the nagas home turf.

"We can't just barge in there and take the flute," Mom said. "There's too many of them."

"Stealth?" Dad suggested. "If we leave the sub and go in dive suits, we may be able to slip into their nest undetected."

"It's risky, but if that's the best way—"

The airship suddenly shook. We looked up at the camera screen and noticed Dr. Beeman's aircraft shooting at us.

"So, I guess stealth is out," I said.

Dr. Beeman kept blasting one after another.

"We're right over the nagas underwater nest," Dad said. "There's no way they're not hearing this."

"Prep the airship for camouflage mode," Mom said. "We'll have to come back another time."

Komodo didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"No, wait. We can use this," I said. "Kur being hunted down by humans? The nagas will eat that up."

"No," Mom said. "No way."

Leave it to her to dismiss any plan about me doing something dangerous.

"You really think you could pull off the acting?" Dad asked.

"Do you still believe the Saturday sub wrecked itself when the auto pilot malfunctioned when I was seven?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Then yes. I can pull off the acting."

"Wait. I spent six weeks trying to diagnose that malfunction."

Sarah laughed. "You apparently haven't changed much since you were seven."

I stood up. "Come on, guys. You can back me up."

"Zak!" Mom called.

"Just keep the scientists busy, and make sure it's a big fight."

Sarah, Fiskerton, Komodo, and I left the room and waited.

My parents dropped the airship close to the water and we jumped it, then they moved away quickly.

We swam to the nagas underwater nest. When we got on shore, I ripped the sleeve of my shirt off.

Fiskerton looked confused.

"Gotta live the part," I said. "Now if only I had a black eye, then I'll be sure to nail this one."

Sarah suddenly punched me in my right eye really hard, knocking me to the ground. I'm pretty sure I felt a few bones break, because she does have super strength after all.

"Ow!" I said. "What did you do that for?"

She smiled sheepishly. "You asked for a black eye, and you got it. Though, I think it looks worse than I meant for it to be."

"Yeah, I can feel it. Couldn't you have given it to me some other way?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Black eye shadow?"

"I'll stick with the punch. Now let's go and get the flute."

Fisk looked uneasy.

"It'll be fine," I assured him. "I'm Kur."

Then a naga suddenly appeared behind me and wrapped his neck around me.

"Hey! You should be worshipping me!"

More nagas appeared and grabbed the others, then they took us to Rani Nagi. After they let us go, I explained to her everything that was happening to me.

"So, if I may ask, Kur, what brings this change of heart?" she asked. "You are willing to betray the human race? Your own family?"

I faked a wince. Well, from my fake broken arm, but not from my non-fake black eye. Thanks again, Sarah.

"Not my family," I said. "Nobody touches my family. That's the deal. But the rest of the humans, you were right. They keep coming after me."

"And this is enough for you to make war on their entire race?" Rani Nagi asked.

"I didn't make the war, they did. Attacking my family right now. The four of us barely got away."

I faked a stumble and Fisk picked me up and held me. I winked at him with my un-blackened eye.

"It's true, my queen," a naga said. "The humans are attacking the boys family above the river."

"Take Kur and his companions to rest in my chambers," Rani Nagi said. "We will need his full strength for the war to come."

They led us away into a private area, then left us alone.

Sarah kissed me. "That was amazing acting. I honestly thought you were going to suck at it."

"Thanks," I said. "Now let's go."

We moved as quickly as we could. We climbed up onto a snake statue, then I pulled out the drawing Gokul gave us from my pocket.

"Ok. We've got Master Gokul's drawing of the flute," I said, looking over it. "All we need to find out is where they're keeping it."

Fiskerton was wondering something.

"No problem," I said. "This is the one thing that can bring down their big hero leader and stop all their human squashing plans, right? So just look for the place with the ridiculous number of snake people guarding it."

We walked around and eventually did find the flute in the hands of a statue with a lot of nagas guarding it. Komodo and Sarah became invisible and went and got it, then teleported back to me and Fisk.

"Nice one guys," I said.

Sarah handed me the flute. "Please. I could do that in my sleep."

Fisk took the flute out of my hand and looked at it.

"Careful," I said.

He walked around and slipped on something. When he hit the ground, the mouth part of the flute fell onto his lips and he blew into it, making a loud noise.

The nagas were coming our way.

I took the flute from Fisk. "Go!"

We ran, but stopped near the edge of a tall cliff, but it was too dark to see the bottom of the other side. The nagas were coming at us from every direction.

"We have to jump," I said. "That's water down there. I think."

"It is," Sarah confirmed.

I jumped and the rest followed. When we dropped down, we noticed Mom and Dad in our sub. We got into it and told our parents what happened.

"Uh, Zak?" Mom said. "What happened to your eye?"

I looked at Sarah, who smiled sheepishly again.

"Just a way to fool the nagas into thinking I was really hurt," I said.

"Let me fix that now," Sarah said.

She summoned some kind of cream to her hands and applied it to my eye.

"That should be fully healed in a few hours."

"Thanks," I said.

* * *

We were now back in Jaipur, India, back at the palace, and I handed Master Gokul the flute.

"My friends, you did it," he said. "But, the nagas, how did—"

"We've had practice," I said.

"Will it still work?" Mom asked. "Can you remove Kur from my son?"

"Of course. Follow me and witness the sacred sight that has not been used for thousands of years."

* * *

He took us to a dump.

"You know, you could still take the trash out every couple centuries," I said.

"Look one more time," Gokul said.

I did and the place changed to another palace, minus the trash.

"Whoa," I said. "Much more sacred looking."

"The Legion of Garuda has kept this fortress masked since Kur's last dark form, waiting for history to be made once more."

He led us inside where there was a weird pattern on the floor, like a maze.

"Come," Gokul told me. "Don't be nervous, child. Your journey will be over soon."

He led me to the center of the room. He had me sit on a stone table, then he walked over to two bird statues that were facing each other and threw the flute of Gilgamesh up between their faces. A beam shot out from their eyes, onto the flute, and then the beam shot toward me.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

When that beam hit Zak, he writhed in pain. It looked like it hurt him a lot.

"Zak?" Drew called to him.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Gokul assured us. "This is the only way to remove Kur."

 _And Zak_ , my powers told me in my head.

They've been like this ever since we met Gokul earlier. They told me not to trust him at all and that he won't just end Kur's journey from the earth again, but Zak's as well. But they won't tell me why, they just leave it to us to find out on our own, kind of like my mom. So I kind of been just ignoring them.

Zak was in so much pain that I could barely watch anymore. Fiskerton couldn't either and he tried to stop it, but Doc held him back.

"Easy, Fiskerton," he said.

But Fisk just kept fighting to get by.

"Keep the creature back," Gokul said. "The ceremony must not be interrupted."

"No," a voice said from behind us. "The ceremony is already over."

We turned around and saw Rani Nagi and her nagas.

"Bad serpents of the darkness," Gokul told them. "You will not stop the work of the Legion of Garuda."

"You just keep that ceremony going," Drew said, all of us getting our weapons ready.

We attacked the nagas. We were doing good, but so were they.

"Fisk, we could really use your help here," Drew said.

He was so focused on Zak, who was off of the stone table now and looked to be in so much pain.

"Don't tell me we're late to the party," another voice said.

I groaned. How the hell do they keep finding us?

The damn Secret Scientists rushed toward us, blasting at the nagas.

"It's ok to be impressed," Beeman said.

"No, it's not," I said.

He ignored me, which was probably the only smartest thing he could do. "What's going on with panda here?"

"We're putting an end to all of this," Drew said. "The ceremony can separate the spirit of Kur from Zak for good. You have to help us."

"Are you truly so foolish, woman?" Rani Nagi asked. "He is Kur. We are the ones trying to save the boy. He will not survive this ceremony."

 _She's right_ , my powers told me in my head.

That caught all of our attention.

We looked at Gokul.

"I am sorry," he said. "The danger of Kur is too great."

Doc, Drew, and I were very mad. Drew charged him with her fire sword, but he kicked her back. Beeman and Miranda caught her.

"Beeman, if you stand against us now—" Doc started.

"Whatever the problems between us, Doc, we've never wanted to hurt Zak," Miranda said.

"Yeah, right," I said sarcastically.

"We're with you on this one."

I guess I'll allow that. This time.

We turned on Gokul.

"You, Merlin, let's bring it into the station, shall we?" Beeman said.

"No," he said in a much deeper voice, then summoned a power that I could feel was strong and caused the floor to rise up and become a maze, seperating us from each other.

"That was unexpected," Beeman said on the other side of a wall from us.

I laughed, though I knew now wasn't the time, but I couldn't help it just by the way he said that.

"He's an illusionist," Doc said. "This isn't reality."

He was half right and half wrong. Some of the maze was real, thanks to my powers. I could see which way was an illusion and which way wasn't.

"Then I see no reason to stand here talking," Professor Mizuki said.

He and his pet white tiger ran through a couple illusion walls, but then ran into a real one.

"You know, I'm quickly losing faith in your hypothesis, Doc," Beeman said.

"It's a mixture of reality and illusion," Miranda said. "But I'll bet a pair of robotic eyes can tell the difference between the two. Deadbolt!"

He responded and headed for Gokul, but he just threw a spear at him and knocked off his head.

"There goes another thirty-seven million," Miranda muttered.

"Not surprised," I said. "Wait. Thirty-seven million? It's already a rip-off for a robot."

"Enough," Rani Nagi said. "The nagas will finish this."

Gokul summoned a gigantic hawk that went after them. Most of them fled in terror.

"Cowards!" Rani Nagi called after them. "Stand and fight!"

I know I will.

Zak didn't look like he could hold on any longer.

"The ceremony is completing," Rani Nagi said. "If you wish to save Kur, we must strike the Jadawala now!"

Most of them went for Gokul, but I went for Zak. The force field around him was strong. I tried to run through into it, but it knocked me away. And again.

"No," I said. "I am not letting anyone take him from me. Especially not forever."

Then something weird happened. My powers became stronger. I became stronger. Stronger than I've ever felt before. Stronger than anything or anyone. Like I could walk through any force field without it holding me back. And I did.

I moved right through the force field around Zak and grabbed onto him.

"Zak!" I cried.

A strong burst of energy came from me and went through all of us, destroying the force field and ending the ceremony. Zak collapsed on the ground with me on top of him. I was breathing hard, and Zak coughed a few times.

"Sarah," he croaked. "Thanks."

I smiled and cried, then I kissed him.

Drew and Fisk were standing right next to us. We got up and that's when I noticed that the amethyst on my necklace that Zak had given me was glowing brightly. I'm starting to think that maybe that burst of energy didn't come from my powers but from my necklace.

"Uh, does this have magic inside of it or something?" I asked Zak.

He shook his head. "I don't know."

We stood up and Drew embraced him with a hug.

Doc, Beeman, and Rani Nagi we're deciding what to do with Gokul, but he used his magic to disappear, and they ran outside of the temple to find him, but they lost him. Then Rani Nagi and Beeman were arguing about who should take Zak and keep him safe, though I doubt they would actually be doing that. Luckily, he decided for them.

"No," Zak said. "I'm staying with my family."

"Sounds like a compromise," Drew said. "Unless anybody has questions."

"Uh, just one," Beeman said. "Where's the flute? You know, just in case . . ."

"The flute is gone," Miranda said. "The magician must've grabbed it when he disappeared."

"Then we're done here," Doc said.

"Until next time, dear friends," Beeman said. "Old and new."

He and the other Secret Scientists, plus the nagas, went their own ways.

I snorted. "Friends? He's kidding, right? How can you still call them your friends?"

Zak shrugged.

Whatever. Right now, I just want to know how and why my necklace glowed.

* * *

 **Why do you guys think her necklace glowed?**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	54. The Return of Tsul Kalu

**Zak's POV**

We were back at our house that we haven't been to in months. It was still destroyed from when Fiskerton built those robots with his brain and the divining rod was still where it stood.

"So, I forget," I said. "Did you guys buy the insurance policy that covers giant robotic Fiskerton damage, or not?"

Fiskerton looked offended.

"Hey, nobody said it was your fault."

"Sorry, boys, but it's too dangerous to even start thinking about rebuilding," Dad said. "The Secret Scientists may have stationed someone here in case we were stupid enough to come back home, which apparently, we are."

"Only temporarily," Sarah said.

"So we stick to the plan," Mom said. "Get what we came for and get out. Fast."

"Right," I said. "All business."

Sarah grabbed my hand and we walked inside.

Mom and Dad went off and the rest of us looked over our destroyed stuff.

"Gah, not the video games," I exclaimed, picking up a half broken disc.

"Really, Zak?" Sarah said.

Fiskerton still looked a little guilty.

"I told you it wasn't your fault," I told him. "Look, if I wasn't Kur, none of this would've happened. Which means, it's kind of my fault. Like pretty much everything else lately."

"Zak," Sarah said, giving me a comforting hug. "Nothing has been your fault. Stop thinking that it is."

I wanted to believe her, but I couldn't.

My parents came back.

"I hate to interrupt, boys, but we really shouldn't stay here any longer than we have to," Dad said. "We've already grabbed all your mothers books on Kur. We just can't take time for any other—"

"Aww, look at this," Mom interrupted, holding up a crayon drawing that Fisk drew of me and him together.

"Aww, that's so cute," Sarah said.

Dad stared at Mom.

"I don't think five seconds to grab a crayon drawing will give anyone time for a sneak attack," she said.

Then Komodo sensed something and growled.

"We've got a scientist," Dad said.

All of us got our weapons ready.

"No," Sarah said. "It feels more animal than human."

Just as she finished saying that, a two legged creature appeared in front of us.

"Dad, I don't think that guy's here for science," I said.

"Tsul Kalu," Dad said. "The great hunter."

He looked kind of scared to see it.

"Wait," I said. "Tsul Kalu? Like, the hand of Tsul Kalu? The thing at the end of my claw?"

Tsul Kalu swiped its claw at me.

"Whoa, grabby. What's your problem?"

"Run, now," Dad said. "Go."

He picked me up and we ran.

Tsul Kalu followed.

"Dad, what are you . . ." I said. "Just put me down!"

"You have to trust me on this, Zak," he said. "Everyone keep moving."

"Doc!" Mom said.

Somehow, Tsul Kalu had intercepted us. Well, he's known as the great hunter, right? I'm starting to see why. He threw an axe at us.

"Down!" Dad said.

We ducked.

We ducked. The axe flew past us and back to Tsul Kalu. He charged at us.

Dad put me down, then used his power glove to break down a door and we ran into it. Dad grabbed me again and we hid behind some wreckage.

I was getting really annoyed.

"Dad, what is going on?" I asked.

We ran around, but Tsul Kalu stopped Dad and I. He blew a flute and knocked us away. Then we hid again.

"It's just one cryptid," I said. "Why aren't we fighting back?"

Dad was clearly ignoring me.

I grabbed the claw. "Ok, great hunter. Let's see where you're hiding."

I activated my powers.

"Zak, what are you doing?" Dad said.

Something weird was happening with my powers. The color kept flashing orange and white. Then I saw a vision of the world on fire. I didn't like it.

"Zak!" Mom called. "Zak, honey, focus on me."

I did and my powers deactivated.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I don't know," Mom replied. "But I think trying to use the hand of Tsul Kalu on Tsul Kalu might be a bad idea."

Dad was fighting him off. But then he grabbed me again and we ran.

"Seriously, Dad," I said. "Why are we running away?"

"We're not running," he corrected. "It's too late for that. He's already marked his target."

"Wait. What exactly does that mean?

"It means we need to keep moving."

"Ok, so he's marked his target, which I'm guessing is me. So what? Six on one? Why don't we just stand and fight?"

We came to a room. Dad put me down and closed the door behind us.

"'Cause the last time I did that, I came out with a blind eye," he said.

I gasped and looked at his blind right eye.

"But you said that happened in an accident," I said.

"It was an accident, Zak."

"There were just a few more . . . you know, details, sweetie," Mom said.

"Like what?" I asked.

Dad sighed. "Do you remember when we found one of the missing Judacalla rocks in the Smoky Mountains?"

I nodded.

He told me the whole story, how I had accidently set off an avalanche in Tsul Kalu's home territory, he hunted us down to our house to find me, and Dad fought him on the roof during a thunderstorm.

Tsul Kalu used the claw against him, it grabbed on to him, lightning struck it, and his eye got hit and became blind, but Dad won the fight.

"It was the hardest battle I've ever fought," Dad said. "I honestly thought I didn't have a chance. In the end, Tsul Kalu was an honorable hunter. I walked away with the claw and my life. But some things were lost forever."

I was speechless.

"So it was my fault," I said heartbrokenly.

"Zak," Sarah said soothingly.

"No, it wasn't," Dad said. "This is why we never told you. I didn't want you to feel responsible for—"

"He's coming," Mom interrupted. "Boys, you have to be ready to move the minute that door opens. If we get to the airship, we can buy enough time to find another solution to this."

"No," Dad said. "There's only one way to stop this, and it looks like it's gonna happen again."

He ran out of the room. We followed.

Dad and Tsul Kalu were having a little stand-off.

"Hey, you want to take the claw?" I asked the great hunter, holding it up with my powers active. "I'll fight you for it."

"What?" Dad asked. "Zak, no."

"Sorry, Dad. But too many people have been hurt already because of me."

I charged at Tsul Kalu, and he charged at me.

When we came close to colliding, the floor broke open at our feet and we fell. After landing about twenty feet down, we had gotten separated. I heard something close behind me, so I turned and attacked with the claw. He deflected it and I heard a clang. At least, I thought it was him.

"Sarah?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, putting her sword down. "I want to help you."

"No. This is my fight and my fight alone."

"I beg to differ, Zak. Whatever you do, I do with you. And there's nothing you can say or do to change my mind."

"Not even if I punch you and tell you I hate you?"

"We both know you wouldn't do that. And even if you did, you wouldn't mean it. We're doing this together."

I sighed. "Fine."

Sarah smiled in triumph. "Thanks. And with me helping you, we can find him easily."

"Alright. So where is he?"

She pointed behind her.

We went that way and saw him. I slingshot the claw at him. He jumped to dodge it. I activated my powers, but they weren't helping.

"Zak, are you here?" Mom called.

We ran to a different section and spotted them.

"Zak, you don't have to do this," Dad said.

"Yes, I do," I replied, then turned toward Sarah. "Where is he?"

"On the floor above this one," she said.

We walked toward a hole leading up to there. I took one look at my Dad before we climbed up it.

I tried activating my powers again, but I was just shone another vision of the world and its destruction by cryptids. He found us and attacked by throwing his axe, almost hitting us. I grabbed the axe with the claw and threw it back at him. It was enough of a distraction to get away and go down to the sub level. I activated my powers again and saw people running away in fright from the nagas.

"Your next command, my master Kur?" one of them told me.

The vision went off and I felt so tired that I fell into the water.

"Zak!" Sarah called.

She jumped in and helped me up.

I noticed Tsul Kalu a few yards away.

"What are you doing to me?" I asked him.

He jumped at us, but I used the claw to get us away. I knocked a chain down to him and he climbed it. We ran to the green house and quickly hid among the plants. He ran around.

I tried my powers again, but I was just given another vision, the worse one so far. I was controlling cryptids to kill a human and he asked me why I was doing this, and I told him that it was because he was human.

"Zak, I can see the visions you're having," Sarah said. "They're like a nightmare."

"It is a nightmare," I said. I came out of our hiding spot. "What, so you're trying to play mind games with me? Making me see my worst fear? You can't beat me in a fair fight, can you? Come on, legendary hunter. Come out and fight."

I tried my powers and they hurt this time.

"Zak!" Sarah called.

I deactivated my powers. He was in sight now.

"You want your claw?" I said. "Just take it. Just get out of my head."

I slid it over to him. He pushed it back.

I was confused, but then he did a combat gesture.

"The honorable Tsul Kalu's gonna fight for it, huh?" I said. "If that's the way you want it."

I picked up the claw, then looked at Sarah.

She held her hands up. "I'll stay out of this fight and let you do this on your own."

"Thank you," I said.

She stood far enough out of the way.

I turned back toward Tsul Kalu and we charged at each other. We kept throwing one hit after another. I tripped him a couple times with the claw. When it got in contact with him, I was shown another vision about seeing myself as Kur. I tackled him to the ground and kept punching him.

"All I ever tried to be is the good guy," I said. "I know I'm Kur, but I'm trying. I never wanted to hurt anybody. I am not a monster. Why are you showing me these things?"

Then a realization hit me.

I got off of him and looked down at him. "Wait. These visions. They're not my worst fear, they're—they're yours. You're scared of me. You didn't just come for the claw because you missed it, you came to keep it away from Kur. Please, just take it. If even the good cryptids think I'm destined for evil, then I don't know why I should fight anymore."

I tossed him the claw and fell to my knees. Sarah came over and comforted me.

Tsul Kalu gave the claw back to me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

He bowed to me and walked off. I picked up the claw.

"Zak!" I heard Mom calling.

They were running our way.

"You're alright," Dad said.

"Tsul Kalu . . ." Mom said. "He's gone?"

"You won the fight?"

"Better," I said. "I think I won an ally."

"I think you did too," Sarah said.

Then she gave me a kiss and a hug. I greatly returned it.

* * *

 **Yeah, not much different about this chapter. The next one should be a little better.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	55. The Unblinking Eye

**Zak's POV**

Hiding in the Sahara, the biggest desert on the planet, sucks. It was too hot, too deserted, and so boring.

"How much longer is the solar panel recharge gonna talk?" I asked my parents.

"It's not just the airship that needs a recharge, Zak," Dad said. "Your mother and I thought we could all use a little peace and quiet."

"Yeah, but isn't that just running and hiding with a different name? When's the last time we actually helped a cryptid?"

"Not much chance of that happening here, kiddo," Mom said. "I'm pretty sure we're the only living thing in about a 500-mile radius."

"In coming," Sarah said.

About fifty feet away, four big balls with robotic arms fell from the sky. They approached us.

We got our weapons ready. When they reached us, the top of each one opened up and we couldn't believe who we saw.

"Agent Epsilon?" Dad asked.

"Francis," I said.

They exited out of their machines.

"My people have a proposition for Kur," Epsilon said. "We are in the right place to negotiate with Kur, are we not?"

"What do you think you know, Epsilon?" Mom said.

"Enough. Quite a show your son put on for the cameras in Manhattan. Did you think my people wouldn't figure it all out? Our files are very thorough."

Dad had his power glove ready. "If you came here for a fight . . ."

"Quite the opposite, Doctor Saturday," Epsilon insisted. "My people want to recruit Zak. We can relocate your entire family. Isolate and protect you all from threats."

"Isolate and protect, huh?" Mom said, not sounding convinced. "Tell me how that sounds different from a prison."

"Oh, my people don't see Zak as an enemy. The boy simply doesn't know how to control his own emotions. The world already thinks he's some kind of monster."

Fiskerton, Komodo, and Sarah stood between me and him, guarding me because they didn't believe he meant what he was saying.

"Perhaps if you put a little more into his personal grooming," Francis said. "They would—ow!"

I hit him by slingshoting the claw at him.

"Thank you for shutting him up," Sarah said.

But my parents weren't happy that I did that. At least, they didn't show it.

"What?" I said innocently. "I've got these clumsy monster hands. They're hard to control sometimes."

"Zak needs structure," Epsilon said. "A predictable existence. That's what we excel at. Francis here can teach him to control himself as well as his powers."

"Francis?" I asked in disbelief. "You think Francis is gonna teach me something?"

"My people decided that you would respond better to someone your own age."

"And you don't think I can help him?" Sarah asked.

"No."

Sarah marched right up to him, but Mom held her back, because I sure wasn't going to.

"We don't even like each other," I said.

"It's true," Francis agreed.

"Francis is a professional," Epsilon said. "He's smarter, more experienced, more level-headed than you. Liking one another doesn't factor in."

"It does to the extent that they could possibly kill each other," Sarah said.

"Smarter than me?" I asked. "He couldn't even beat jellyfish."

"I'm with my son on this one, Epsilon," Dad said. "Thanks for the offer, but your people haven't given us much reason to trust them."

"I respect that, Doctor Saturday," he said.

He and Francis climbed back into their robots.

"But I can't accept it."

He extended his robotic arm toward me, grabbed me, and pulled me into the air toward him.

"Zak!" my parents and Sarah called.

Sarah had managed to grab onto me before they pulled me away. He tried to use one of his other arms to pull her off, but she wouldn't budge.

"You're not taking him from me," she said.

Epsilon threw me at Francis and he caught me, but Sarah had slipped off.

"I just sterilized these arms," Francis said. "Now the stink of ignorance is never going to wash off."

"Here," I said, grabbing the claw. "Let me get that spot for you."

I hit the glass with it, but it bounced off.

"Maybe I'll just get rid of the problem," Francis said.

He dropped me toward the ground, but the other robot guys grabbed me before I could hit it, which I would've preferred.

A purple light spread through all of us, effected the robots, and it dropped me.

Fisk caught me.

"Ok," Sarah said. "Don't know how that happened again."

I looked at her and noticed the diamond on her necklace was glowing.

"Everyone get clear," Dad said.

He shot rockets from the airship to Epsilon and Francis and we ran to the airship. When we got inside, we took off.

"I think we can put Epsilon's people on our Groups to Avoid list," Mom said.

"And take the Sahara off our Peace and Quiet list," Dad added.

"This is what I'm talking about," I said. "We can't just run forever. Can't we go find some cryptids to help out?"

"Zak, we all want to be doing our jobs," Mom said. "But with everything that's going on, I just—"

"It's not about a job, Mom. I need to do some good. I need this, ok?"

My parents looked at each other and they both seemed to agree.

"Let me pull up the latest reported cryptid incidents," Dad said.

"Yes," I said.

I high-fived Fisk.

* * *

The latest cryptid incidents was in Istanbul, Turkey, so that's where we went.

"Alright, here's what we've got," Mom said. "The Turkish government started work on a gas thermal power plant, but the project had to be stopped when an uninvited guest showed up."

"A cryptid?" I guessed.

"The Lake Van Monster," Dad said.

Fisk seemed uneasy about the 'monster' part.

"I'm sure it's just a name, Fisk."

"Dark rooms, deep drilled holes, lots of super heated water," Mom said. "It's no mystery what attracted the mon—"

Fiskerton stopped her.

"The, uh, creature to a geothermal plant."

"How to get a twenty-ton cryptid back to a less populated area," Dad said. "That, I'll classify, is a mystery."

We went inside the power plant.

Dad turned on the lights.

"The well sites our best bet," Mom said. "This way."

She led us down one direction until we heard something.

"Think it knows we're here?" I asked.

The noise seemed to come from behind a double metal door in front of us. We walked up to it.

"Uh-oh," Sarah said.

"What?" I asked.

Mom and Dad busted the door open. But we didn't see the cryptid.

"That's what."

"I see where your son gets his lack of self-control," Epsilon laughed.

He and the others launched their robotic arms at us, knocking Mom and Dad aside and grabbing us and taking us away. The others went one way while the one that had me went another way. And, unfortunately, that one was Francis. He was knocking me around.

"Oh, so sorry," he told me sarcastically. "But I've got these clumsy mechanical hands. They're hard to control sometimes."

"Why are you going along with this?" I asked. "You don't even want to train me."

"It isn't my choice. My father and our people have decided, and they know what's best for both of us."

"What are you, Dad's little pet?"

"Better than Mommy's little monster."

I managed to grab the claw and slingshot it up. It wrapped around a pipe and pulled myself free. I landed on the ground and hid under a staircase.

"Trying to hide, Zak?" Francis said. "No matter where you are, I can find you."

He moved around me, but didn't notice me.

"I lost it," he said, like he was talking to someone else other than me. "What's going on up there?"

"Sorry for the delay," a man's voice responded on a receiver. "Snake Charm 1 lost it for a moment, but we're back online. Kur should be . . . directly under you."

He slammed down his robotic arm and it missed me by an inch.

I ran into another room, and there was water in it. And I happened to run into the cryptid we were looking for.

"So, I guess this is the well site," I said.

The cryptid jumped near me and I moved out of the way.

Then I activated my powers. "Hey, look, I get it. I don't like people chasing me either, but I'm here to help, ok?"

She understood.

"Zak!" I heard Dad calling.

He and the rest of our family, plus Sarah, ran up to us.

"It's ok, Dad," I said. "I've already made a connection."

"It's not the monster that's the problem."

Just as he said that, Francis and a few of his people appeared, still in their robots.

They approached us, but the Van Monster knocked them away with his tail.

"I like him," Sarah said.

We hid behind the pipes because she kept throwing them around. She was good.

"The fire escape hatch," Dad said. "Go!"

We headed for it. When we got to the top, Fisk put the hatch on so they couldn't follow us.

"There's no way this was just another lucky guess," Mom said. "They knew where to find us."

"Snake Charm 1," I said, remembering it. "They were talking about it on Francis's radio. It sounded like it was some kind of satellite, like they figured out a way to track me."

"They probably did," Sarah said.

"Well, if that's the case," Dad said, then punched open one of the robots that the cryptid had thrown up here, and pulled out something. "Satellite receiver. Somehow, they are tracking you."

"No running from this one," Mom said. "As long as that satellite's active, they'll be able to find us anywhere on the planet."

"Are we going to outer space?" I asked hopefully.

Fisk seemed just as hopeful.

"Don't get excited, boys," Mom said. "Neither the airship nor the griffin is capable of space flight."

"Maybe not, but you guys are good at that kind of stuff," Sarah said. "Can't you upgrade those enough so that you can fly them in outer space?"

"Actually, there might be a way," Dad said. "But it'll take both your mother and me to pull it off."

"Wait. Just the two of us?" Mom asked. "And what are the boys doing in the mean time, hanging out, playing a little Parcheesi in a kabob shop?"

Fiskerton seemed to like that idea.

"Sarcasm," I told him.

He looked disappointed.

"If they know we're coming, I don't think we'll have a chance," Dad said.

"So we keep the eye in the sky focused on us while you guys try to take it out?" I asked.

"Something like that."

"We can do that."

"Play it safe," Mom said. "You wanna keep as much distance as possible between you and Epsilon."

"I have a way to do that," Sarah said.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, you choose between two choices: one, I can summon us some mini-motor bikes that we can ride, or two, something . . . special."

"What's the special thing?"

"Choose it and find out. But you can't change your mind if you don't like it."

I thought about it for a moment. I would like to ride a motor bike, but I'm curious to find out what the special thing was.

I looked at Fisk. He considered it himself, and held up two fingers.

I looked back at Sarah. "Is the special fast?"

She nodded. "Faster than a motor bike."

I thought about it again. "Ok. Then we'll choose the special."

She smiled. "I'm glad you chose that one. Now, try not to freak out."

I was confused by why I would freak out. But she took a few steps back, then activated her powers. She transformed into a six-foot-tall black and white canine.

"A wolf?" I asked.

 _A werewolf,_ she corrected, talking to us telepathically.

"I thought werewolves stood on two legs, not four."

 _This is a different kind of werewolf._

"Apparently. And that's faster than a motor bike?"

 _Yes. It's even faster than a cheetah. Believe me, I know. Well, a cheetah that doesn't have super speed._

"But I thought cheetahs were the fastest land animal on earth."

 _They are. But if werewolves weren't myths, they would be faster. Now can we go already?_

"Wait. We're riding on your back?"

 _Got a problem with that?_

I shook my head. "No."

Fisk, Komodo, and I climbed onto her.

"Just pick a straight line, and don't stop running until we get back," Mom said.

"Absolutely," I said. "All except the part you missed where we go back and help the Lake Van cryptid."

"What?"

"I told you, Mom, I need this. I'm not leaving until it's done."

 _Yeah,_ Sarah agreed. _Plus, it helped protect him._

"Zak, I'm . . ."

 _They're back._

"We'll be fine, Mom," I assured her. "Go."

They did and so did we.

 _Hold on tight, if you can,_ Sarah said.

I grabbed onto her fur, which was weird to think since she was my girlfriend after all, but her fur was soft.

Francis, Epsilon, and their people looked a little frightened when they saw her.

"Hey, Francis," I called. "I'd challenge you to a race, but I'm guessing Daddy doesn't let you play outdoors."

 _Nice,_ Sarah said.

"Thank you," I replied.

She ran toward them really fast, jumped on a couple of them, and ran off.

They, of course, followed.

It was so cool to ride on Sarah as a werewolf. I couldn't think of anything better. She maneuvered around cars with elegant grace, and I'm pretty sure the people were frightened to see her as well. She ran inside a parking garage, all the way up to the roof, which turned out to be a mistake.

"They've got us blocked," I said.

Sarah growled at them, which sounded really scary.

I looked around.

"Hey, Sarah," I said. "Do you think you can jump down onto a train track below us?"

She snorted. _In my sleep._

"Then let's do it."

We held on and she jumped, landing without a stumble. They tried to follow, but the train stopped them. For now.

"Let's go help the Lake Van creature now," I said.

 _Ok,_ Sarah said.

Fiskerton disagreed though.

"It's what we came here to do," I told him. "I told you, I need this."

He made a hand gesture.

"They called you a monster too, remember? That's what people do when they're scared of something they don't understand. Well, maybe just because something's powerful, doesn't mean it's evil. Not all monsters are dangerous, ok?"

 _You're right,_ Sarah agreed.

"Let's just go, ok?"

Off we went.

* * *

We headed back to the well site room. Sarah decided to stay in werewolf form just in case.

Fiskerton and Komodo were unsure.

"Guys, it's fine," I said, approaching the water. "She's only a monster by name."

She came out of the water and growled. I grabbed the claw and activated my powers.

"That's it, girl," I said. "We're gonna get you somewhere safe."

Sarah growled.

"How did I know I'd find you here?" Francis said, appearing behind us.

"Gee, good question," I said sarcastically. "Maybe because you've got a satellite tracking my every move."

He exited out of his robot. "Actually, we don't. Someone destroyed it seventeen minutes ago."

I smiled at the triumph of my parents. "Weird. I wonder who could've done that?"

Sarah laughed.

"Yes, yes, yes, very amusing," Francis said. "But I didn't need a satellite to track you. It's just like the files say, you have no self-control."

Sarah growled and took a step toward him.

I held her back. "Easy, Sarah." I turned back to Francis. "You think I'm the one with control issues? Have you ever done anything that wasn't on Daddy's orders? You're not his kid, you're his yes man."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he said defensively. "The pressure, the training, the drills? You just sit comfortably while Mommy makes you breakfast and Daddy helps you pick which uniform shirt you're going to wear today."

"Ok. A: I made my own breakfast this morning. That's right, waffles. And B: my parents let me make up my own mind."

"They also let you make mistakes, like coming back here when it was so achingly predictable."

The cryptid was getting angry at him, and so was Sarah. I used my powers to hold the cryptid back, and myself to hold back Sarah.

"It's ok," I said. "Just give me a second."

"Look at you," Francis said. "You carelessly walk around with powers that can go nuclear at any moment. You're just a monster-loving-time-bomb waiting to explode."

"Better than being a daddy's boy robot. 'Yes, Father. No, Father. Right away, Father. Whatever you say, Father.'"

"He isn't my father!"

That left us speechless.

"Did you . . ." I tried, but faltered.

Francis sighed. "Epsilon and I are the latest in the line of cereal clones. Our people found their perfect agent one-hundred years ago and they've been repeating him ever since. One day, I'll get to be the Epsilon and I'll have a Francis of my own and then I can teach him to live up to a hundred years worth of high expectations."

"Francis," I said sympathetically.

"I don't want your pity," he said. "Like Epsilon said, personal feelings don't factor into it. This is who I was made to be."

Sarah changed back to her normal self.

"That doesn't mean you have to be that way," she said, a tear tracing down her face.

"Francis, I'm in route to your location with containment team B," Epsilon said from the radio in Francis's robot. "Hold the prisoner until we arrive. Do you copy?"

He sighed and walked back to it.

"Do you really want to spend the next ten years with me in some hidden training camp?" I asked him.

"I'd rather eat my own foot," he replied.

"Well, that sounds like personal feelings to me. Look, they can tell us what they think we are: monster, clone, whatever. But they can't tell us what we have to be."

The cryptid bumped me with her nose. I patted her.

"Huh. It seems to like you," Francis said.

"Ah, she doesn't care about labels," I said. "She just knows I'm trying to help get her some place safe."

"You should probably get going then."

That surprised me.

"I guess it's a good thing we hate each other so much, huh?" he said.

"I hope I never see you again too, Francis," I said, and held out my hand to him.

He shook it.

Sarah gave him a kiss on the cheek and we left with the cryptid.

"I can tell you were jealous about that kiss I gave him," Sarah said.

"Nah. I knew it was sympathetic," I replied. "It was, right?"

She smiled. "Of course it was."

She gave me a kiss on the lips.

* * *

We reunited with my parents and relocated the cryptid to a small human population lake.

"Go on," I told her. "No one's gonna bother you."

She swam away.

"Good day for the monsters?" Mom asked me.

"No," I said. "Great day for the monsters."

* * *

 **This was a little cute chapter. And when I first heard Francis say that in the episode, I was so shocked. Wait until the end of the next chapter. It's going to be interesting.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	56. Life in the Underground

**Zak's POV**

Playing a game using something electrical is awesome. The only down side about it was that Sarah keeps cheating. But it was still fun.

Fiskerton was unsure about this though.

"Fisk, Dad's back at the airship monitoring cryptid activity, and Mom's off on a supply run," I told him. "For the first time in months, no one's looking over our shoulder. It'd be wrong not to play with every dangerous experimental weapon we can find."

Komodo charged at me and I dodged him.

We jumped into a bush and came out of it rolling on the ground laughing, but I lot the remote I had to use some of the electrical stuff.

"Ok, nice. I surrender," I said. "Now give back the remote guys."

"I don't have it," Sarah said.

Fiskerton and Komodo shook their heads.

"Come on, this isn't funny," I said. "If we don't put everything back the way we found it—"

Suddenly a yo-yo appeared out of no where and took the claw.

"Hey!"

It went into a bush. We looked in it, but didn't find anything or anyone.

The yo-yo came back out from another bush and took my belt away from me, causing my pants to fall down.

Sarah diverted her eyes from me. "Why do you like to do that?"

I didn't know who she was talking to, but I knew that it wasn't me. I also knew that there was only one person on the planet that likes to take my belt.

"Wait," I said. "Wadi?"

She walked out of the bush holding a yo-yo and the claw.

"Was the belt too much to take?" she asked. "I feared it might give me away."

"And it did," Sarah said.

I was confused.

"How are you here?" I asked Wadi.

"I was told we were supposed to surprise you," she replied.

Then I got tackled and pinned to the ground.

"Ulraj?" I asked.

"This grip is called the lobster claw," he said. "I invented it."

Then my parents appeared.

"Happy birthday, kiddo," Mom said.

"Happy birthday," the others said.

"Surprise!" Fisk and Sarah said.

"You knew about this?" I asked them.

"Of course," Sarah replied.

"Wow. That's, uh, thanks everybody. Umm, can I get up now?"

Ulraj got off of me and I stood up.

"Supply run, huh?" I asked Mom.

"Party guests are supplies," she said. "We just figured with all the running and hiding and, you know, being the embodiment of an all powerful ancient cryptid . . ."

"We thought you might like to be a normal kid for a while," Dad finished. "At least for one day."

"So a fish boy and a thief girl are normal party guests?" I said.

"And a normal mortal girl too," another voice added.

"Selena, there you are," Sarah said.

She ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"Uh, yeah," Selena said. "You brought me here. Hello, Zak. It's nice to see you again, and happy birthday. How old are you turning?"

"Twelve, and thanks. And, uh, where's Zack?"

The girls looked at each other with sad expressions on their faces.

"You still haven't told him yet?" Selena asked Sarah.

"No," she replied.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing, Zak. Let's just get this party started."

"No, not until you tell me."

She sighed, a tear tracing down her face. "Zack's missing."

"What happened to him?"

She told me everything: him being kidnapped and having no idea where he could be.

When she finished, she was crying. "I really miss my brother. My twin brother. I just want him home."

I've never seen her cry this much before.

"Come here," I said, and pulled her close to me.

She cried into my shirt.

"Is he the one you've been writing that song about?"

She nodded. She summoned a handkerchief to her hand and wiped her eyes. "Sorry for ruining your birthday before it actually began."

"It's ok."

"Well, I don't want to ruin your birthday more than it already is. Let's start the party."

* * *

Mom set up chairs around a table and Dad got a grill. He began barbequing hamburgers and hot dogs. We also put on party hats.

Wadi was telling me about her yo-yo.

"I call it a thief's yo-yo," she said. "With it, I can defend myself, grab things from far away, even use it to pull myself up a steep surface."

"So, basically, you made your own claw," I said.

"Yes, but, I mean, I was not trying to copy you."

"Zak, honey," Mom called. "Can I talk to you? Just be a sec."

I walked over to her.

"Hey, birthday boy, can I give you some motherly advice?"

"Sure," I said.

She smacked me on the back of the head.

"Hey!"

"You don't have to flirt back, but you do have to be nice," Mom said.

"Huh? Flirt? With who?" Then it dawned on me. "Wait. Wadi's flirting with me? How do you know?"

"Zak, sweetie, under all this kick-butt-momness, I am a girl. We pay attention to these things. Of course, sometimes, it's a little more obvious."

I thought about it for a moment, then remembered what happened the last time we saw Wadi.

"Uh, yeah," I said. "Thanks for the heads-up, Mom."

I walked back to the others and sat down next to Sarah. She and Selena were staring at me.

"You were listening, weren't you?" I said.

They nodded.

"You don't have to worry. I'm not going to let that happen again."

"I know you won't," Sarah said and gave me a kiss.

Then Mom and Dad wanted us all to check something out inside the airship.

* * *

They turned on a national news station and the news caster was talking about grotesque animals invading a town. They showed a video of it, but it was full of static, so we couldn't see it clearly.

"I saw at least four different cryptids in that photoage," Dad said. "Couldn't make out a species, but . . . wow."

"And why would they all swarm the same neighborhood?" Mom asked. Then she noticed me. "Is a question we can ask tomorrow, you know, when it's not Zak's nice, normal birthday."

"What? Uh, good point that is."

Sarah and Selena laughed.

"Guys, it's ok," I said. "For one of my birthdays, this is pretty normal. Let's go."

"I can take the griffin and drop off Wadi and Ulraj before—"

"No!" Wadi interrupted, then blushed. "I mean, I would rather go with you. Uh, all—all of you."

I blushed too, but I tried to do whatever I could not to.

"Also coming," Ulraj said.

"What about you, Selena?" Sarah asked. "You wanna be on a cryptid adventure with the Saturdays?"

"Hell yeah," she replied. "You and Zack like to talk about how fun they are and I wanna experience it for myself."

So off we went.

* * *

The town was barren.

"For a city overrun with grotesque animals, things are suspiciously quiet," Dad said.

I had my powers active.

"There are definitely cryptids here," I said. "It feels like we're being watched."

"We are," Sarah said.

"And followed," Ulraj added. "Shark senses. I detect electrical fields around me when something's coming. Like the creature's about to pounce on Zak."

"What?" I asked.

Then I noticed them.

Then I noticed them, two red dog-like creatures with horns like impalas. One ran into me and knocked me away.

"Zak!" Sarah called.

I activated my powers.

They pushed toward me and I pushed back with the claw. My family and friends pulled them back.

"This is a calopus," Dad said.

"What?" Mom asked. "How is it here?"

The calopus got out of their hold and charged back at me. My powers weren't holding them back.

"Boy, they sure don't like you," Sarah said.

I managed to blast them away with a burst of energy, but it took all of my strength from me and I began to feel drowsy. I collapsed on the ground.

A calopus charged at me and I couldn't stop it.

"Stop!" Sarah called to it, but her aura, I guess, couldn't stop it either.

Wadi threw her yo-yo at it. It wrapped around its legs and trapped it.

"Nice, uh, yo-yo combat technique," I said.

Sarah looked jealous.

I stood up. We continued to fight the calopuses, but eventually they ran off.

"You guys sounded surprised those cryptids were here," I said to my parents. "Calopuses aren't South African?"

"Not even African," Mom said. "They're native to the Euphrates River banks."

"We should take some first samples, measure footprints," Dad said. "It's possible we've identified the wrong species."

"We'll scatter around," I said. "See if we can spot some of those other cryptids from the news footage. Come on, guys."

We ran off and left my parents with the cryptid DNA.

* * *

We walked around for a while, but didn't find anything.

"Shark sense isn't picking up anything nearby," Ulraj said. "But my range is limited. You should probably stand closer to me, Wadi."

"I am fine with the Kur distance," she replied.

I smirked.

Fiskerton poked my shoulder, then he pointed up. I noticed Argost standing on top of a building from the other side of the street. Sarah and Selena noticed too.

"So that's the guy you were telling me about?" Selena asked Sarah.

She nodded.

"You told her?" I asked.

"We're best friends," Sarah said defensively. "We tell each other everything. But, I promise, she's the only other person I told besides my mom."

I sighed. "Fine." I ran up to Wadi and Ulraj. "Uh, hey guys. Fisk and I have to, uh, check something out. Alone."

"What?" Wadi asked. "Why would you—"

"It's nothing. I mean, it's, you know, we just have to do this. I promise we'll be right back."

"Zak, if there is danger, you should let your friends help you."

"Look, Wadi, whatever boy-girl stuff is going on with you and me, this is pretty much the worst time ever, ok? I'll be right back."

"If that is how you feel."

She ran off, looking a little hurt. Ulraj ran after her.

Sarah crossed her arms. "Ok, Zak. I know you were saying that for our sake, but that was unnecessary for you to tell her. Especially in front of all of us."

"She left me no choice," I said. "But I'll apologize later. Can me and Fisk just hurry? You two go with them."

"Ok. Be careful."

They ran off.

* * *

Me and Fisk went to see Argost inside the clock tower.

"Do forgive me for interrupting, young lemur," he told me. "Lovely girl. Does she know you have dealings with a major television celebrity?"

"Our dealings are supposed to happen through your show," I reminded him. "Why do you keep sneaking around and following me?"

"You're a fine one to speak of sneaking around, or is your dear Uncle Doyle nosing about in my past all on his own?"

"Really bugs you, huh? Doyle must be getting close to something juicy."

"Actually, I have been sending you messages through Weird World, but you are obviously not watching."

"Can you blame me? It's not like your training's been outstanding so far."

"Oh, but today's lesson is essential. May I ask, what is the power of Kur?"

"To influence cryptids," I replied. "Get them to follow him. Me."

"Just one cryptid?" Argost asked. "A few? Perhaps even a gaggle?"

"My Mom and Dad think Kur can build a cryptid army."

"And have you never wondered exactly how Kur would control such an army, one that travels on land and sea and air across the entire globe?"

"I—no. I guess I never—"

"Zak, more creatures!" I heard Wadi calling. "Come quickly!"

"Well, it is something to think about, isn't it?" Argost said.

Fisk and I left the clock tower.

I found all of the others hiding behind a car on its side.

"Where are the—"

Wadi shushed me and pointed across from us. I noticed the calopuses with another different kind of cryptid.

"Mapinguari?" Dad asked. "This just keeps making less sense."

"Are they also from the Euphrates?" Wadi asked.

"South America," Mom replied. "And I'm pretty sure something that big didn't fly here."

A flying white cryptid appeared. It noticed us and signaled the others. The mapinguari and the calopuses charged at us.

"They're using guards, look outs?" Dad asked. "Something's trained these cryptids into an organized force."

Fisk looked accusingly at me.

"It's not a Kur thing, I swear," I said defensively.

The cryptids reached us and we moved out of the way. Except for Dad, who jumped on to one of the mapinguari. The calopuses came after me again, but I was able to handle them this time. Fisk was wrestling with a mapinguari.

"Just hang on," I called to him, grabbing the claw. "I can calm him down."

I activated my powers, but then the ground started shaking.

"Whoa."

"Earthquakes?" Mom asked.

The ground cracked open and destroyed a few buildings.

"None of these cryptids is capable of—"

"High on your left!" Dad called.

A flying cryptid was carrying a calopus toward them. Sarah hit them with a fire ball and knocked them away. My friends and I were dealing with a mapinguari. Wadi slingshot herself up onto a street light.

"Wadi, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Does that super market seem unusual to anyone?" she asked.

"I'm kind of busy."

The mapinguari was really focused on me.

Ulraj kicked it away and into a small crevice.

"Now that I have rescued Zak, I have time," he said. "Show me the unusual market."

Wadi pointed to it, another mapinguari sitting in front of it, staring at it, and not moving at all.

"Why does it stay still when everything else is shaking?" she asked. "And why does this creature not join the fight with the others?"

"That is weird," I said. "Let's go check it out."

"Oh, I am sorry, but this is something Sarah, Selena, Ulraj, and I must do on our own. We would bring you along, but it is all bad timing. You understand."

She grabbed Ulraj's hand and they headed for the market, but not before Ulraj gave me a thumbs-up.

I was mad.

"It's not like you didn't deserve that," Sarah said.

"I know," I said. "Let's just go."

* * *

We headed to the roof, because that's where Ulraj and Wadi were. They were trying to open the sun roof to get inside, then they noticed us.

"I believe I told you—" Wadi began.

I used the claw to open it up, then we all jumped inside.

"I do not see why it is ok for you to follow us when we could not follow you," Wadi told me.

"Because I know cryptids," I replied. "I can protect you."

"I do not need protecting."

"You're being a hypocrite," Sarah whispered in my ear.

In a way, I knew she was right.

We heard a growling sound. We looked from behind an aisle and saw the calopuses gathering up food in a pile.

"What are they doing?" I asked.

A hole appeared below the food pile and the food fell into it. Then two worm-like creatures came out. We all stood ready to fight.

"Don't," I said. "This is my job."

"What is wrong with you, Zak Saturday?" Wadi asked. "I thought you were trying to be normal. Normal people let their friends help them."

"Do I look like I'm allowed to be normal? Just let me do this and stay back." I activated my powers and approached the cryptids. "Ok, so let's stop all the earthquakes and talk about why everybody decided to take a South African vacation this year."

I got one of the worm creatures under control, but the other one went somewhere else.

A moment later: "Wadi!"

I turned around and saw the other worm go down a hole, but Wadi was no where in sight.

I lost my focus on the first worm.

It gathered up the calopuses and went down the hole as well.

"No!" I called.

We jumped onto it's back. The calopuses came toward us.

"Guys, try to hold them off while I get sluggo here under control."

"Try to hold them off?" Ulraj asked, sounding offended. "Zak, I once tamed three sharks with a hand full of kelp and a star fish. I think I can handle—"

A calopus tackled him and knocked him off.

"Apparently, his shark sense doesn't work while he's gloating," Selena said.

"No," Sarah agreed.

I activated my powers and got in control of the worm creature we were riding. I had it lead us to the other one and we were side by side with it. I noticed Wadi on its back. I slingshot the claw over to her. It grabbed onto her wrist, then Ulraj came near, riding the calopus, knocking into me, and we both fell over, taking Wadi down with us. Sarah and Selena jumped down next to us.

The tunnel began to shake and it collapsed on top of us. The rocks fell around us, blocking us in. Sand began to pour in and fill up around us.

"We're alive," Wadi said.

"We're buried alive," I corrected.

She began trying to dig through the rocks. "We have to reach the surface."

"Wadi, we don't even know which direction the surface is. If we try to dig, it's just gonna make it worse."

"What about your claw? Call back the worm cryptid."

"It's gone, Wadi. It could be miles away already. I just don't know."

"Your parents?"

"Even if they know we're gone, why would they look underground?"

"Then perhaps you would like to fix this by yourself?" Ulraj said.

"Sarah?" Selena asked.

"I could try something," she said. "But like Zak said, it could just make it worse."

I sighed. "Guys, I'm sorry. Look, I never meant to be such a jerk. I just— My life's been even more dangerous lately, and if there's anybody I didn't want to see get hurt, it's you, Sarah. And the rest of you guys as well."

Sarah smiled. She gave me a kiss, probably the last one we'll ever have, and she hugged me.

"I feel the same way," she said.

The sand was now up to our chests. We reached our hands out to each other.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," I told Sarah.

"I'm sorry it wasn't a very good birthday party," she replied.

"And I'm sorry I can't breathe dirt," Ulraj said.

The sand was now halfway up our faces.

I activated my powers. I had to try one last time to save my friends.

 _I know you can hear me, but wherever you are, I need you. Please, I'm not your enemy. Please._

The worm cryptid came out from below us, making a hold that flushed the sand down it. It stopped near me and I patted it.

"It came back," Ulraj said. "It saved us."

"I thought your powers—" Wadi began.

"Yeah," I said. "I think I just learned a new trick. Come on."

We climbed on top of the worm's back and I controlled it to go down the hole. We went through a few tunnels, seeing a couple more worm cryptids.

"An entire network of tunnels," Ulraj said.

"I guess we know how the angry mob's been getting around," I said. Then I noticed something. "Wait. Stop here for a second."

The worm stopped. We got off of it for a moment. We saw a pile of food and the calopuses were in it.

"I do not think this is an angry mob," Wadi said.

"They are hiding," Ulraj said. "All these food supplies. This must be the reason why they evaded that town. Not an army, a survival camp."

The flying cryptid and a mapinguari appeared.

"But what are they trying to survive?" Wadi asked.

Sarah and I looked at each other, and we both had a silent agreement.

"Me," I said.

I activated my powers and walked up to them. "Hey, uh, yeah, I'm Kur. I get it. But, listen, I know you're scared, but all of this, it isn't going to help. Look, humans are freaked out by cryptids already, and stealing food and causing earthquakes is just gonna make things worse. I don't know what's gonna happen with this Kur thing either, but if we're gonna get through it, everybody's gonna have to work together, ok?"

They all seemed to agree. They greeted all of us, but I think Sarah got more attention.

* * *

We all headed back to the surface. We reunited with my family, and all the cryptids returned the food they stole and repaired all the damage they did.

"The level of cooperation between different cryptid species, it's unprecedented," Dad said.

"I guess they know something big and bad is coming," I said.

The cryptids finished their work.

"I'll call you if I need you," I told them. "I promise."

They walked off and I waved goodbye to them all.

"And will you call us too?" Ulraj asked.

"Of course," Sarah said. "Even if you two are a pain sometimes."

Wadi gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Happy birthday, Zak Saturday," she said, then ran off into the airship.

"Well, I guess that makes us even now," Sarah said.

I smiled. "Yeah."

"And I wish you a happy birthday as well," Ulraj said.

Then he stuck his saliva on his index finger and stuck it into my ear.

I didn't like it.

"Really?" Sarah asked. "Was that necessary?"

He laughed and ran away. I chased after him.

"But the wet William is a traditional gift in my culture," he said.

"It's a wet willy," I said. "How can it be a tradition if you don't even know what it's called?"

I bumped him, but he bumped back even harder, causing me to collapse right next to Dad.

"Good friends?" he asked.

"The best," I replied.

"Good, because if you boys ever touch the experimental weapons without permission again, you're gonna need a friend."

I swallowed hard.

Sarah laughed. "Luckily, you have a friend to help you with that. A girlfriend, to be exact."

"Happy birthday," Dad said.

* * *

Mom took back home Wadi and Ulraj, and Sarah was going to wait to send back home Selena until I returned. Fisk and I went back to the clock tower to see Argost.

"Why, the prodigal student returned," he said. "Imagine my shock. Perhaps my lesson were a value after all."

"This one was," I admitted. "Saved my life, actually. So, uh, thanks, I guess."

"Pish, posh. The smile on your face is the only gratitude I need. It is, after all, your birthday."

He handed me something in a small clear container.

"A neural parasite?" I asked.

"Consider it an emergency contact," Argost said. "If heavens forbid you should find yourself in another crisis, this will provide you a direct line to me."

I took it. "Don't these things only work over a limited range?"

"Then I'll just have to stay close, won't I?"

I put the parasite in my pocket and we left the clock tower. Our audience with Argost was over.

* * *

Back at the airship, Sarah and Selena were waiting for us on the plank board.

"So how'd it go?" Sarah asked.

I told them.

"I hope you'll never have to use it," Sarah said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, Selena."

"Yeah," she said, standing up. "I'll see you later too. Goodbye, Zak, and happy birthday."

She gave me a hug, which was weird to me, but I accepted it and hugged her back.

"Thanks."

We pulled away and she gave Sarah a hug too.

"I hope I didn't miss the party," a voice said from behind us.

We turned around and saw a boy wearing green and brown combat fatigues with a backpack slung over his shoulder. We almost couldn't believe who was standing before us right then.

It was Zack.

* * *

 **Zack's back! Finally. And, boy, does he have a story to tell. Also, I'm not sure how old Zak turned in this episode. Some say 12, some say 13, but I decided just to have him turn 12 instead, because I had something else planned for him at 13.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	57. My Twin Brother's Finally Returned

**Sarah's POV**

I could hardly believe me eyes. My twin brother, who's been missing for four months, was standing before us right now.

He looked different, like he's been working out. He was wearing a dark green T-shirt, with cargo pants and sneakers like he was training to be in the army or something. But his face still looked the same as I remembered it.

I couldn't think of anything to say. So I did the logical thing: I ran to him and gave him a hug with tears streaming down my face.

He hugged me back. "It's ok. I'm home now."

I didn't want to let him go, but I knew I had to eventually.

"Hey, come on," Selena complained. "I want to hug him too."

I pulled away and let them hug. She also gave him a kiss.

"Can we stop with the hugs now?" Zack asked.

We laughed.

I wiped my tears away. Zak came near, wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me close to him.

Zack was eyeing me.

"Yes, I made up with him," I said.

"I can see that," he replied. "You can give me the details later. Hey, Zak."

"Hey yourself," Zak said. "Sarah just told me a little while ago what happened to you."

His face darkened. "Yeah."

"We already know what was done to you," I said. "So can we please not relive it?"

"I agree," Selena said.

"I'm pretty sure that I don't want to relive it more than anyone else here," Zack said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "So how about I give Mom a call and we can all rejoice together that you have finally returned?"

"Not yet. I need to talk to you first. Alone."

My eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I'll tell you once we're alone. It's important."

I considered it. "Alright. Then, uh, we'll be back in a while."

"Ok," Zak said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Fine," Selena said, also giving Zack a kiss on the cheek.

"So where do you want to talk?" I asked Zack.

"I have a place in mind," he replied.

He grabbed my hand and we teleported.

* * *

We appeared on the roof of a house. There were more all around us, like a neighborhood, but I didn't recognize it.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"In the Immortal world," Zack replied.

I thought he was kidding, but after what he's been through, I don't think he'll "kid" about anything for a while.

"It looks a lot like earth."

"I know."

"How did you know how to get here? I don't even know."

"Nick taught me."

I stared at him. He was sitting on the roof, staring out into the distance with a serious look on his face.

"You met Nick?" I asked.

He nodded. "He saved me . . . three months ago."

"What?! He saved you three months ago, and now you come home? Why?"

"He wanted me to recuperate before I went home and faced our family."

"You could've recuperated at home."

"I could've tried to, but when Nick brought me to his home, I knew I was safe, but my body didn't feel like it was safe for a long time."

"What do you mean?"

He shifted himself uncomfortably. "For the first few weeks or so, it was hard for me to even be just twenty feet from someone without trying to squirm away from them. I would really freak out and try to hide in a corner if they touched me, even if it was in a truly friendly way, like a comforting hand on my shoulder, or a pat on the back, or anything physical."

"Why would you . . . oh."

He took a deep breath. "Yeah. Nick didn't want to send me home like that, so he wanted to help me be able to trust other people again, starting with him, even though it was harder since he was a man."

"So, he was practically your therapist."

"Kind of. Yeah. He even told me about Mom's rape from what she told him because he didn't meet her until about a month after it happened, like she told us."

"I'm so sorry, Zack."

"Yeah. Nick also wanted to make sure that they wouldn't go after me again and to train me to be a strong Immortal."

"I can see that," I said, gesturing to his muscles. "But Mom was doing fine with training us."

"Nick knows that," Zack said. "But even she would have to agree that he does a better job at that than she does. After all, he did train her."

"I know. But his sisters, Nikki and Nicole, they lied to Mom about you."

"Yeah. They didn't like it, neither did Alex, Madison, and Kiara, but he insisted and they let him because they know how much he misses our mom and how much she misses him."

"You met Alex, Madison, and Kiara? Our older half-siblings?"

He nodded. "It was nice to have a brother for once. Not that my sisters are boring, because they're not. Especially not you."

I smiled.

He blushed. "They're cool. But Madison and Kiara?" He whistled. "They look a lot like Mom. You do too. I have a feeling Emily will someday as well."

I laughed. "Probably."

"Yeah. One thing we all can agree on is that Mom is a cool Mom and that she tries with all of us. Like with me and Alex, she would teach us how to play basketball and bond together. And with you girls, well, you, Madison, and Kiara would always talk to her about anything because you know she'll do anything for you at any cost."

"Don't you boys feel the same way?"

"Yeah. Alex actually told me that, after Nick had died, that Mom thought, and kind of tried, to commit suicide."

"That doesn't surprise me too much."

"Me neither."

"I mean, Mom told us that he had changed her life for the better, that he made her feel like life is worth living. Him dying destroyed that for her, but she managed to keep going without him."

"Alex said that Madison and Kiara were ten and eight years old. Mom didn't try because she knew that they needed her. So, basically, they kind of saved her life because of how young they were."

"It sounds like it."

"Yeah. Nick wanted me to get some exercise, so he made me workout in his home-made gym. It looked just like a gym on earth with a treadmill and weights."

"And now you're probably stronger than ever," I said.

He smiled. "Nick has been spying on us for over the past decade since he's been back to life. Mostly focusing on Mom for obvious reasons. He's also secretly helped us through difficult situations. One in particular, the day we left the hospital after Emily was born."

"I thought I recognized his voice."

"I know."

A little over a year ago, on the day we brought Emily home, we had an incident.

In the room where Mom was in, all dressed and ready to go, the nurse brought in our newborn baby sister and gave her to Mom. At least, we thought it was our newborn baby sister.

Mom, Zack, and I didn't feel like it was her, but we weren't sure how we knew that though. Dad, of course, was a clueless idiot, so he didn't think that anything was wrong.

The nurse led us out of the hospital, and just as we started to walk to our car, a doctor stopped us. He was holding the real Emily in his arms. When he told us that she was switched with someone else's baby, the nurse acted like she didn't know, but she really did.

I wanted to hit her for trying to keep my baby sister away from us. Why she tried that? We may never know.

When the doctor switched babies with Mom, she looked shell-shocked. I didn't know why then, but now I do. She recognized his voice, the voice of her dead first husband, Nick. And it was him.

I know we could use our powers to change our physical appearance and that's what he did. Though we could also change the sound of our voices, and why he didn't, I'm not sure. He probably wanted to let her know in some way that he was alive.

But I was still wondering something.

"How—or should I say who—brought him back to life?" I asked. "I already know how, since Mom explained it to us last summer."

"Yeah," Zack said. "Narma, the queen of the Immortal world who gave Mom her powers, brought Nick back to life."

"Why did she wait so long if you only get one chance to do that?"

"To make it interesting and wait until Mom remarried to cause some drama."

"That's stupid and mean."

"That's how she is: mean, but not stupid. Anyway, yeah, Nick's been keeping a close eye on Mom since he came back to life."

"That's creepy. He hasn't been watching us undress or when we take showers, does he?"

"I don't know. That question never came to mind. But if Mom loves him, I don't think she would like someone who's like that."

"Probably not."

I sat down next to him on the roof. "The roof of the house we're on right now. Is this where he lives and where you've been for the past few months?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. These houses are actually like our house: a mansion on the inside, but not on the outside."

"This is probably where Mom got the idea of that."

"It is. Nick told me."

"Of course he did."

"Yeah, uh, he also allowed me to watch you, but not the same way he watches Mom."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he watches Mom in person by being invisible. But he let me watch you with, like, a magic mirror."

"Like in Snow White?"

"Something like that."

"So that was your voice that I heard in my head."

"Yeah. I wanted to let you know I was alright, so I kind of begged Nick to let me contact you telepathically for a couple minutes. I've also seen you drink a few times."

I didn't want to meet his eyes, but eventually I did.

He looked at me the same way Mom did.

"Don't," I said. "Please."

"I saw the conversation you had with Mom about it," he said. "You know she's right."

"I know. So can we please move on to a different subject?"

"Ok. How about that song you wrote about me?"

After hearing Zack's voice in my head, I came up with a good chorus, one that I already had but forgot about, and I was able to finish the song.

"You've probably already heard it if you've been spying on me," I said.

Zack smiled. "Yeah, I have. But can you play it for me in person?"

I smiled back. "Of course."

I summoned my guitar and started playing and singing:

Every time I think I'm closer to the heart  
What it means to know just who I am  
I think I finally found a better place to start  
But no one ever seems to understand  
I need to try to get to where you are  
Could it be you're not that far?

You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you  
You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you  
Oh yeah  
Yeah

You're the remedy I'm searching hard to find  
To fix the puzzle that I see inside  
Painting all my dreams the color of your smile  
When I find you we will be alright  
I need to try to get to where you are  
Could it be you're not that far?

You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you  
You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you

Been feeling lost  
Can't find the words to say  
Spending all my time stuck in yesterday  
Where you are is where I wanna be  
Oh, next to you, and you next to me  
Oh  
I need to find you  
Yeah

You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
I need to find you (need to find you)  
I gotta find you (yeah)  
You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you (I gotta find you)

You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
I need to find you (need to find you)  
I gotta find you (gotta find you)  
You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you  
Yeah  
I gotta find you.

I finished the song and sent my guitar away.

"So," I said. "What'd you think?"

"The same thing I always think when I hear you sing," Zack said. "It was great."

I smiled. "Thanks. It took me forever to write it."

"Ok. Well, I told you what happened to me, so I guess it's your turn to tell me how you and Zak got back together, because I didn't see that part."

I told him.

He didn't seem surprised. "Well, at least you know he cares about you."

"I know," I said.

He examined my necklace. "I saw that glowing. Do you still not know how that happened?"

I shook my head. "No. Can you think of any reason?"

"No. Maybe Mom can, though."

"Maybe. And did you know that she's helping Doyle find Argost?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, if you have nothing more to talk to me about, we should let her know you're back."

"Yeah, ok. But I do have one more thing to tell you."

"What?"

"Nick doesn't want Mom to know that he saved me and helped me."

"I didn't think he would. So what's the cover story?"

"Well, first of all, he only let me tell you and no one else. So you have to do the same and keep it a secret, especially from Mom."

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"No, it wouldn't be. And second of all, our cover story is that I was still held captive until Nikki, Nicole, and everyone else found me again today and saved me this time, ok?"

"Simple. But Mom's going to find out someday."

"I know. And Nick knows that too. He said he'll tell her himself someday, because he's not going to hide from her forever."

"Ok. And when will that day be, exactly?"

"I don't know. He doesn't know himself. But . . . someday."

I sighed. "Fine. I remember Mom saying that she owes him more than she can repay him for. Now, it's more than she even realizes."

"Yeah. But let's not worry about that right now."

"You're right. Let's not." I gave him a sideways hug. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Zack said.

I looked up at him during the hug.

He looked cute. No, handsome.

I found myself feeling drawn to him. I think he did to me as well, because he was leaning into me. I leaned in back until our lips touched.

After a minute, I pulled away. I looked at him, wondering why we just did that. We're brother and sister. Twin brother and sister. It doesn't get more weird or wrong than that. But I liked it, almost as much as I like it when Zak kisses me.

 _Zak._

I clutched my necklace. "Umm . . . we should go. And . . . uh . . . go tell—"

Zack interrupted me by kissing me again. And I let him. I kissed him back. Hard. I couldn't understand why, though. I don't think he could either.

After a couple minutes passed, I pulled away again, breathing hard, and backed away this time. Zack looked a little hurt by that.

"Let's go," I said. "Please."

He sighed and stood up. "Ok."

He held out his hand to me. I grabbed it and we teleported.

We went back to the airship, where Zak and Selena were waiting for us.

"Hey," Selena said. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah," I said. "Why?"

"You two look kind of sad," Zak said.

"It's nothing. I'm going to go call my mom now."

I grabbed my phone and went to a different room.

* * *

After I called my mom, she came to see Zack. She was crying for what happened to him. She and the animals welcomed him back home and they eventually did go home, but I decided to stay with Zak.

"Why?" Mom asked me.

"I've already spent my time with him," I explained. "And it is still Zak's birthday, so I want to spend the rest of it with him. But you guys can go and I'll see you later."

"Ok. If you say so."

I made eye-contact with Zack and he could tell that that wasn't the only reason why I was staying, but he didn't say anything, so he probably understands.

Selena gave me a hug and I gave Zack one to not make it look like it was weird between us.

As weird as it was, I was still glad that he was back.

They went home and I was left alone with Zak.

I walked over to him and gave him a kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Just another birthday present from me," I lied.

It was actually to remind me that he was my boyfriend, not my brother. But I was afraid that my relationship with him was never going to be the same as it use to be.

* * *

 **Alright. I want to make it clear that I do not condone this in any way. I added this to cause some ridiculous drama, but I also wanted to talk about this a little bit, because there seems to be an increase of it lately, especially from an article I read last night. I want to try and explain what you can do if you or someone you know experiences this, for whatever reason, especially when it gets as bad as it will later. It's going to be put on hold for right now, but I will come back to it before this story ends. Anyway, what do you guys think about Nick, and what he did for Zack?**

 **And, quiz time!**

 _What was the name of the song that Sarah sang for Zack, and who sings it?_

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	58. And Your Enemies Closer

**Zak's POV**

I shrieked. "You know, I've never really looked at a neural parasite up close before, and I'm pretty sure I never want to again.

Sarah, Fisk, and I were in the back of the airship, looking at the parasite on a table.

"I think it's kind of cute," Sarah said.

"You think every creature is cute," I said.

"And what's wrong with that?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Ok. But do you really think this is a good idea to keep that?"

"No. I know Argost's working on some evil master plan or something, but his Kur power lessons saved my life once already. What if we—"

"What are you boys up to?" Dad asked, entering the room.

Mom was somewhere else with Doyle and Raylee at the moment, somewhere in the Himalayas.

"Us? You know, a bit of house cleaning," I replied.

I put the parasite back in its container and hid it behind my back.

"It seems like you three have been doing a lot of housecleaning lately," Dad said. "And without even tell your parents about it."

"Yeah, well, uh, things have been a little messy."

"Zak, I don't know what's been going on, but I need you to know, whatever it is, you can always trust me."

Then our video phone started ringing.

"Dr. Cheechoo?" Dad said, him appearing on the screen. "What do you want, Paul?"

"Thank you for taking my call," he said. "I know this is awkward."

"Because you're trying to kidnap and cryogenically freeze me?" I said.

"Yeah, that covers it. I don't blame you for hating us right now, but the Secret Scientists really need your help."

"What's the problem?" Dad asked.

"Cryptids. Two days ago, we caught a pretty nasty one that got itself un-caught. It's ripping Beeman's lap apart."

We saw something fly by behind him.

"Do you have any idea how many probes it took to retrieve that sample?" we heard Dr. Beeman say in the background.

Sarah and I laughed.

"Beeman? Tell him how broken-hearted we are for his loss," I said sarcastically.

Sarah gave me a high-five.

But Dad scolded us.

"Wait. Dad, you're not seriously thinking about helping?" I asked.

"Six months," he said, but not to me.

"Wait. What?"

"I—I don't—" Cheechoo stuttered.

"You want our help, I want a promise that the Secret Scientists will back off," Dad said.

Beeman appeared on the screen. "We'll give you seven. Just—Hey, gargantuan, get away from that."

He ran off.

"Looks like we have a deal," Cheechoo said.

We ended the call and headed to Peru.

"Six months?" Sarah asked. "How about forever?"

"Six months is enough," Dad said.

She crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine."

* * *

We arrived in Nazca, Peru.

"Nice location," I said. "But I sort of expected more from the Beeman's hive."

Sarah smiled.

We entered our airship in and exited out. The five of us entered into another room and found all of the Secret Scientists being thrown around by a single cryptid that looked kind of like Bigfoot with four arms.

"Oh, I should video record this," Sarah said.

"That's what you needed help with?" I asked in disbelief. "Come on, it's already five on one."

"Yes, Pointy Locks," Dr. Beeman said. "Now that we've all enjoyed gloaty time, maybe you'd like to stop this—"

He was interrupted when the cryptid punched him into the wall next to us.

Sarah laughed. "I like this cryptid."

"Anything for you, Uncle B," I said, then faced the cryptid and activated my powers. "Come on. Sleepy time."

My powers couldn't get a connection to it. Then it morphed into a bull and knocked me away.

"Zak!" Dad called.

Komodo and Sarah checked on me.

"I'm fine," I said. "But I'm starting to see the problem here."

"What a quick learner you've raised," Dr. Beeman said sarcastically.

"I'll confirm it in the Cryptipedia," Dad said. "But off-hand, I'd say you've caught yourself a revolving beast."

The cryptid changed form again. A kind of spider figure. Then it changed back to its Bigfoot form. I tried my powers again, but I was really struggling to keep control of it.

"Come on," I said. "Just stay still."

Professor Talu Mizuki wrapped his arms around it and held it back, but it morphed into a bull again and knocked him off his back.

Dad, Fiskerton, Sarah, and Komodo tried to stop it, but they just got knocked around as well.

It ran through the wall and left the room.

"Doc, if you want your six months vacation, you and your boys better contain that thing," Dr. Beeman said.

"I thought you said seven months," I said.

He glared at me.

"Six is good."

My family and I ran after the cryptid.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"Behind us," Sarah said.

A little too late there.

The cryptid was in spider form. It hit Komodo and knocked him into some kind of control pad, and the alarms began to blare. The ceiling opened up.

We checked on Komodo.

"Komodo, hey boy," Dad said. "Up here."

He looked up at us, but he didn't look good.

The morphing cryptid climbed up to the open ceiling.

"How are we suppose to stop that thing?" I asked. "My Kur powers aren't working."

"Six months without Secret Scientist interferences could make all the difference, Zak," Dad said. "If your powers can't do this, we'll have to figure something else out."

It hurt a little bit to hear that. But I, unfortunately, had someone who probably could help.

"Fiskerton, I need you to stay and take care of Komodo while Zak, Sarah, and I—"

"Wait," I interrupted. "Dad, it might be better if you stayed with Komodo. I mean, if something's really wrong with him, you'd know what to do better than Fisk."

Fisk seemed a little hurt by that.

Dad checked on Komodo. "His leg is pretty bad. Go. And hurry. We need this one."

"We'll get him, Dad," I promised. "Don't worry."

I climbed on top of Fisk and we ran up as close to the ceiling as possible. Sarah followed close behind.

We caught up to the cryptid.

"Gotcha," I said.

I grabbed the claw and slingshot it at it. It grabbed onto one of its tusks. I jumped toward it and kicked it. It landed on the ramp we were on.

The cryptid got up and made a run for the opening in the ceiling and got outside.

"No, you don't," I said.

The three of us climbed after it, then climbed down the mountain.

It morphed back to a Bigfoot and began throwing things at us. We ran away to dodge it. Then it morphed back to a bull and tried to ram us.

Fisk pulled Sarah and I behind something and we took a moment to catch our breaths.

"Mom and Dad need those six months, guys," I said. "Maybe they can finally find a way out of this Kur thing. That's worth whatever it takes, right?"

"It depends," Sarah said.

I grabbed the parasite out of my pocket and gave it to Fisk. "I need to talk to Argost."

He didn't like it, neither did I, and pointed to Sarah.

"He's not going to dare ask me because I'm his girlfriend," she said. "And, even if he did, my powers wouldn't allow him to take control of me."

He sighed. He grabbed the parasite and put it on the back of his neck.

Argost was now in control of him. "Found ourselves in trouble already, young Kurling?"

I showed him the cryptid.

"The solution is childishly simple," he said. "Frankly, I'm disappointed you even needed to ask."

"Yeah, I'm kind of regretting it too," I said.

"Just shut up already and tell us what we need to do to stop it," Sarah said.

"Clearly, the revolving beast favors certain forms for certain activities," Argost said. "Therefore, if you wish to stop the shifting, simply lure the beast to a place where only one form will do."

He pointed to a pool fifty feet away.

Sarah and I looked at each other and nodded. She ran to the corner of the pool, next to the controls, while I got the cryptid's attention.

"Hey, Eltoro!" I called to it. "Over here."

Sarah had summoned a big light in front of me to get its attention and I was in front of the pool. It ran to me and I moved at the last second.

He ran into the pool and morphed into a fish. I activated my powers and made a connection with it.

"Ok, nice and easy," I said. "Sarah, the gate."

She pulled the lever and the gate closed on the pool, trapping the cryptid in it.

I deactivated my powers.

"Zak, you did it," Dad called.

He, Komodo, and the Secret Scientists were coming toward us.

"Not a word," I told Argost.

"Why don't you just take the parasite off of him?" Sarah whispered.

"Not enough time."

They reached us.

"Hey, nice work," Dr. Beeman said. "The six months truce is running."

He and Dad shook hands.

"I'm impressed, Zak," Dr. Cheechoo said. "How'd you figure out a way to beat it?"

"Oh, it was, uh . . . childishly simple," I said hesitantly. "See, the revolving beast favors certain forms for, you know, various activities it does."

Komodo was near us. He smelt a whiff of the air and caught a scent he didn't seem to like and looked at Argost/Fisk. He jumped on top of him and knocked him down on his stomach.

"Komodo, no!" I said.

Then everybody noticed the parasite.

"Uh, somebody wanna tell me why Fuzzy Wuzzy's got a V.V. Argost special on the back of his neck?" Dr. Beeman asked.

"No," Sarah said.

I walked up to Argost/Fisk, but Dad held me back.

"Zak, stay back," he said.

"Doc, I think Zak knew about this," Dr. Cheechoo said.

"What? That's not possible."

Unfortunately, it was. He looked at me and I didn't even try to hold back my guilt.

"I—it's not—"

"They're onto us, boy," Argost interrupted. "This will never be forgiven. If you want to live, you've got to come with me right now."

His warship suddenly appeared from the air and the bottom opened up.

"Don't let them get away together," Dr. Beeman said.

But Argost, using Fisk, hit him and Dr. Cheechoo.

"Come, boy," he told me. "Now."

He pushed me toward his ship. I hated the fact that I agreed with him.

The other Secret Scientists came outside and started blasting at the warship.

I looked back at Dad, and he looked hurt and heart-broken that I, his son, had been secretly working with the enemy behind his back.

"What have you done?" he asked.

I couldn't bare to look at him anymore.

"Dad, I'm sorry," I said.

I slingshot myself into Argost's warship and we flew away.

"Wait. No!" I said.

"Too late for regrets, boy," Argost said, appearing as himself. "We're already in the end game."

He pulled something from his cape, a solid green mist. When it came near me, I felt woozy, then I fell unconscious.

* * *

"Good evening, moonshine," I heard Argost say.

I woke up on an ice mountain and my whole body was wrapped up in Munya's webs, except for my head. I tried to break out of it, but I couldn't.

"Please don't exert yourself," Argost said. "Even if you could get loose, there's no where to go. We're on an inaccessible, the most isolated spot on earth. I warned you this moment would come, young Saturday. It's time I finally got the power I deserve."

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll get what you deserve, Argost," I said. "But it won't be my powers, I can promise you that."

He laughed. "Who said anything about _your_ powers?"

He pulled out something from his cloak.

"The Monday smoke mirror?" I asked. I had a bad feeling about this. "But that's—"

"Hanging on a museum wall in Paris?" Argost said. "Not for several weeks, I'm afraid. I'd hoped to find something useful when I pilfered your airship's data base during our Australian visit. Possible even the means of extracting the power of Kur from your unworthy little body. But I'd never dreamed I'd discover something even better. A power as great as Kur's, but darker, twisted, and also much more useful. The one you call Zak Monday, I believe. The sort of anti-Kur, living in a parallel dimension, needing only this Aztec mirror and the presence of you, his counter part, to be brought back into our world."

The mirror opened up and Zak Monday came out of it.

"Ah, guess who's back in town," he said.

He grabbed his claw and aimed it at me.

"Zak, whatever Argost told you, don't—" I tried to reason with him, but he slingshot his claw into my face.

"I had to wait a long time for this," he said. "Don't spoil it."

He slingshot his claw into my stomach, and with everything around us going crazy, I bounced off the pillar that was next to me.

"You have to listen to me," I tried again. "You're in so much danger, you don't even understand."

"What? The matter, anti-matter, ripping apart the fabric of reality stuff?" he said. "I figured that will stop once I get rid of you."

He slingshot his claw at me again, grabbed me and threw me into a pillar. He walked up to me, but then I noticed Argost behind him and I saw him pull something from his cloak, and I recognized it.

"No," I said. "Zak, that thing he's got, it's the Flute of Gilgamesh. He's going to steal your powers and get rid of us both."

"With a flute?" he asked in disbelief. "Dude, you're crazier than I am."

I doubted that.

He hit me again and laughed. Then Munya tied him up with his webs like me and threw him on the ground a few feet from me.

"It is true, only a crazy man would try to take Kur's power with the Flute of Gilgamesh," Argost said. "As young Saturday would know, the flute only sucks the Kur power out, and rather painfully, I'm afraid. To truly steal it, you'd need several Devonian Annelids to collect and transfer that mighty life force. My, how well prepared am I."

A Devonian Annelid came out of the sleeve of his cloak and latched itself onto Zak Monday, then Argost attached the other end of it to himself.

"Munya, please, protect our insurance policy. I've only just learned to play."

Munya stuck his web into my ears so that I couldn't hear the music from the flute. Argost played it, and Zak screamed in pain. I was glad I couldn't hear him.

Eventually, all of Zak's powers was sucked from him to Argost and he became unconscious, or even dead.

Argost picked up his claw and he had Zak's, now his, power activated. He dropped the Flute of Gilgamesh on top of the smoke mirror and stomped on both of them, breaking them to pieces.

Then, suddenly, he took his face, or mask, off.

I almost couldn't believe what I saw. Munya took the web off of my head.

"You're a cryptid," I told Argost.

"Yes, and that would've been incredibly useful information a mere three minutes ago," he said. "Why I believe it worked. Then it would seem we now have one Kur too many."

I turned my head toward Munya and activated my powers. I was able to get in control of him. Argost shot his claw at me, but Munya stopped it by shooting his web at it, which surprised Argost. He grabbed my claw and cut the webs from around me.

I took my claw, stood up, and faced Argost. "You know, I always wondered how much cryptid spider DNA you put into him. I guess the answer is enough."

I had Munya throw a few webs at him, but he blocked them with his cape. Then he tried his powers on Munya and got control of him. He had Munya pick up the ice sanctuary and threw it at me. I dodged it and tried my powers on him again.

"Munya, the boy is not your master," Argost said.

But I was in control of him, so I had him pick up Argost and throw him into his warship.

"No," I agreed. "I've just been doing this longer."

I had Munya go toward him, but Argost tried his powers and it worked. Munya turned back on me, but I wasn't about to give up. I got in control of him again.

"You're playing with forces you don't understand, boy," Argost told me. "Munya is a creature of rage. You may confound him for a moment, but deep down, all he wants is to make you hurt."

He got back in control of Munya and he turned back on me and attacked me. I just kept dodging his hits. He used his webs and caught my feet, then he threw me and I slid near the edge of a cliff.

I stood up and tried my powers again. "Come on."

"Oh, please stop embarrassing us both," Argost said. "I'm quite immune to your powers. Munya is firmly in my control, and we're the only cryptids within a thousand miles of this forsaken rock."

Little did he know, I wasn't trying to control Munya. I'd given up on that. I was trying to get another cryptid to help me. My power turned white and I knew he was here.

He appeared, blew his flute, and knocked away Argost and Munya.

"Not anymore," I said.

"Tsul Kalu," Argost said.

Then my family and Sarah appeared next to me with their weapons ready.

"And friends," Dad said.

"The greatest tracker this world has ever seen," I said, referring to Tsul Kalu. "Or did you think you were my only emergency contact?"

"Congratulations on delaying the inevitable," Argost said.

He and Munya jumped into their warship and took off.

"Dad!" I called.

I ran to him and gave him a hug. The others greeted me as well.

"Fisk and Sarah filled me in a little bit on what's been going on with you and Argost the past few months," Dad said. "But you still have a lot of explaining to do."

"I will. I promise," I said. "But right now, Argost just got a power as big as Kur's. He can raise a cryptid army. I don't know how long we've got, but if the world has any chance of surviving, we're gonna need an army too."

"Zak," Sarah called.

She was standing over the unconscious and possibly dead body of Zak Monday a few feet away. I forgot he was still here.

"How is he here? And what happened to him?"

I told them, but they didn't seem to like it.

Sarah laid her head on his chest. "He's still alive."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "How?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. But we have to help him."

I looked at Dad.

He nodded reluctantly. "Alright."

Fisk picked him up and took him back to the airship. Everything still went crazy around me when I went near him, so I stayed as far away from him as I could.

If he really was still alive, things were going to get really tense for us Saturdays. And even more since we have a war to plan.

* * *

 **Ok, well, when I wrote this story, I had only watched this on TV, and in the show, they never explained what happened to Zak Monday. But, not long ago, I learned on The Secret Saturdays Wiki that Zak Monday had actually died. Well, I didn't know that, so this is what I did with him. I actually got this idea from another fanfiction I read on here called** Brother, Lovers, and a Mirror by RandomDraggon. **Though, I'm not going to do most of the stuff in here that the writer did in there. That's just too much. Go read it if you want to know what I mean.**

 **Anyway, the answer to my last quiz was** _Gotta Find You, by Joe Jonas_. **I really like that song.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	59. My Anti-Self Becomes My New Brother

**Zak's POV**

We took Zak Monday into the infirmary. Once there, Sarah started working on him. I wanted to help, but I couldn't.

"Not to sound rude, or anything," I said. "But why are so intent on helping him?"

"It's kind of in my blood," Sarah replied. "You know, my mom being the Protector of America and all."

"Oh. Right."

She finished and walked over to me. "He'll be out for a while. I'll wait here until he wakes up."

"Can I wait with you?"

She thought about it. "Which do you prefer: bracelet, necklace, ring, uh, head band?"

I was confused. "Why?"

"Just answer my question."

"Uh, necklace, I guess."

She activated her powers and summoned a black lace chain to her hands and put it around my neck. Then she grabbed my hand and pulled me next to Zak Monday's bed side. She looked around us like she was expecting something to happen, but nothing ever did.

"Ok," Sarah said. "It works. Now just keep wearing that thing."

"Because it keeps the fabric of the universe from coming undone when I'm near him," I said, more like a statement than a question.

"Yes."

"Ok."

We sat down on the bed next to Zak Monday and talked.

"So," Sarah began. "Argost is a cryptid. A yeti, to be exact."

"Yeah," I said.

"I had a feeling he was since the day I first met him last summer, which was also the same day I met you, but I wasn't sure."

"Your aura?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I didn't think it was important enough to say. But I think he's immune to my aura. Some animals can be."

Zak began to stir. We got off the bed and went to his bedside.

When he opened his eyes, he didn't like it when he saw us. "Oh, please tell me this is a nightmare."

"You are," Sarah said. "Unfortunately, it's real."

He groaned and sat up.

"How do you feel?"

"Do you care?"

"I'm the one that wanted to help you and I treated you, so yes, I care. But you're pushing it."

"Well, then I feel like crap."

She laughed. "And you probably will for a while."

"Yeah."

He glared at me. Then he looked around, confused. "Why isn't the room going crazy with him so close to me?"

"Because of this," Sarah said, summoning another black lace necklace and putting it on him. "It has a magical anti-barrier allowing you to be near your anti-self without everything around you falling to pieces. Only one of you needs to wear it, but I'll have both of you wear it just in case one of you loses it."

"Ok. But does it have to be a necklace?"

"Would you prefer a bracelet or piercing?"

He held his hands up. "Necklace is good. At least it's black."

Sarah and I laughed.

"I agree," I said.

"Yeah, so, what happened?" Zak Monday asked.

Sarah and I explained it to him. He liked it better when Sarah told him instead of me. I couldn't blame him.

"You're lucky you survived," Sarah said. "And I'm pretty sure Argost took your powers completely, especially since I can't feel any kind of power surging from you, but that doesn't mean you can't still try it."

"Ok. On what?"

"Umm . . ." She turned toward the door and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Komodo!"

"Really?" I asked.

"I know, but he has to try on either him or Fiskerton."

Komodo came into the room and stood next to her.

"Ok. Zak, try it on him."

He held out his hand toward Komodo and concentrated, but nothing happened. "My powers are gone."

"Yeah," Sarah said. "Sorry about that."

"Thanks."

Oooook. I was a little jealous that Sarah was getting along with my anti-self, but I guess he was kind of like me and she likes me.

Then someone entered the room.

"Sarah," Zack said.

"Zack?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Mom wanted me to come here, because, for some reason, she wants me to hear whatever she, Doyle, and Drew have to tell us, and—" He faltered when he noticed Zak Monday. "What and how is he here?"

"Yeah, we also have something to tell them," Sarah said.

"Then you better come—"

"Zack?" Raylee asking, entering the room with her Pikachu on her shoulder. "There you are. And the rest of you. Umm . . . I just came to warn you guys to stay at least ten or twenty feet, maybe even more than that, from Doyle and Drew."

"Why?" Sarah asked.

"They're really pissed right now. Honestly, I can't tell which of them is more pissed."

Pikachu said something.

"Yeah, I think so too," Raylee said. "And you guys are about to find out why. Come on."

"Ok . . ." I said, a little nervous.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"My mom."

She seemed to understand. "It's ok. You'll get through it. Eventually."

"Yeah."

"Ok," Zak Monday said. "So what am I suppose to do while you guys are off chatting?"

"You're gonna be with us," Sarah replied.

"I am?"

"He is?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Now come on."

She grabbed both of our hands and pulled us out of the room. And since she has super strength, she didn't need to put much, or any, effort into it at all.

* * *

We all were gathered in the control room where I saw my mom, Doyle, Zon, and Van Rook. Raylee was right: Mom and Doyle were pissed. And their moods didn't lighten when they noticed Zak Monday.

"How did he cross our dimension again?" Mom asked.

"How about you tell us what happened to you two and why you're so pissed, and we'll tell you our story, because I'm pretty sure that ours is longer," Sarah suggested.

Mom and Doyle did and we could understand now why they were so mad. Argost had been the one that attacked and killed their parents and separated them from each other for over twenty years. It was rough, and I could tell that they wanted revenge.

"Alright," Mom said. "We told you our story of the day, now it's time for you boys to tell us your story."

I looked at Sarah. She gave me a encouraging nod, so did Dad.

I took a deep breath. "Doyle, do you remember when I asked you to look into Argost's past for me a few months ago so that I could get an edge on him?"

He nodded.

"I never told you why I needed to get some sort of edge on him. Now I have to."

I told them all everything, from the night on top of the Empire State Building to today. When I finished, I was breathing hard. I hadn't realized that I kind of rambled through it without taking a single breath.

Sarah rubbed my arm for reassurance.

Mom was surprisingly calm. "Ok. We clearly have a lot to talk about and do if we ourselves need a cryptid army. But before we do anything about that, what are we going to do about him?"

She was gesturing to Zak Monday.

"He can help us," Sarah said. "That is, if he wants to."

We all looked at him.

"Do I have a choice?" he asked.

Sarah and I looked each other.

"Well, the smoke mirror is broken again," Sarah said. "So we can't send you back to your dimension, and I know you don't want to go back—"

"You're right," he said.

"—you also no longer have your powers, which I'm sure you want revenge for, and we're not going to leave you to fend for yourself. At least, I'm not. So, no, you don't really have a choice."

He sighed. "Fine. So what are you going to do with me?"

Sarah looked at me. "You two can be brothers."

My family and I stared at her. "What?"

"Oh, come on, guys. Why not? Yes, I know, Zak, he's your 'evil-clone', but now you can have a brother that's human and not animal. Not that there's anything wrong with having an animal for a brother, of course. I mean, I consider the cubs as my brothers and sisters sometimes. But, Zak, you'll have to promise not to pick a fight with any of us. And I'm talking to both you Zaks, but mostly you. So what do you say?"

Zak Monday looked at me, then at the rest of my family. He sighed. "I guess you guys would be better than my family."

"Perfect," Sarah said. "How about you guys?"

My family and I looked at each other.

"And I guess we could give it a shot," Mom said.

"Yes!" Sarah exclaimed.

Raylee laughed. "You are my daughter."

"Yeah, and if anything goes wrong with him, you can blame her for it," Zack said.

"Yes, you can," she agreed. "Now we just need to change your name."

"Excuse me?" Zak Monday asked.

"You heard me."

"Why do I need my name to be changed?"

"Because we have enough Zaks as it is, and we don't need another to make it more confusing to which one we're referring to. And if I have to do that, I'm going to go crazy, and you don't want that. So we have to change your name."

"Why my name? Why not theirs?"

"Because I've known them longer than you, and we just need to change your first name, ok?"

He sighed. "You're not that different from Danielle. Honestly, Zak, I'm surprised you're still with her."

"She's not like that all the time," I said.

"True."

"Ok. So you agree on changing your name?" Sarah asked.

"Yes. But I have to like it."

"Well, of course. It's your name. Now I guess we should start naming names until you hear one you like"

"Oooo, how about Set?" Raylee suggested.

"Really, Mom?" Zack asked. "That's not really a name."

"Yes, it is."

"Oh, yeah?" Sarah asked. "Where did you even get that name from?"

"It's actually the name of an Egyptian god, the god of evil."

"The god of evil? There's such a god? I thought all of the gods were evil."

"They are," Raylee said. "But sometimes, and I do mean _sometimes_ , they're ok."

"And this particular god's name was Set?" Zak Monday asked.

"Yes."

"That's a weird name."

"They're all weird," Sarah said. "Now do you want that to be your new name or not?"

He thought about it for a moment. "What the hell. I'll take it."

Sarah smiled. "Ok. Everybody, meet Set Monday."

We waved with barely any enthusiasm.

"Ok," Sarah said. "This is gonna take some getting use to."

"Or a lot," I muttered.

She glared at me. "Please try to get along with your new brother at least. And the same goes for you, Set. For me."

We looked at each other and sighed. "Fine."

Sarah was gesturing me to Set.

I held out my hand to him. "Welcome to the family."

He shook it. "Thanks for accepting me into your family."

"Don't make me regret it."

Sarah smiled. "Thank you."

I wasn't sure which of us she said that to, but she gave us both a hug, a kiss on the cheek for Set, and a kiss on the lips for me.

"Alright," she said. "Now that that's settled with, let's go plan our army."

None of us argued.

* * *

 **Well, Sarah seemed to take a completely different turn toward Zak, now, Set Monday unlike the last time she met him. What do you guys think about Set joining the family? How do you think it'll go? You guys know how the series ended, right? We're at the very last episode of The Secret Saturdays, but my version is going to have a bit of an alternate ending that I don't think you're going to want to miss.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	60. War of the Cryptids

**Zak's POV**

This is it. The war has begun. Time for me and Argost to face off, though I think my mom and Uncle Doyle will want to face off against him more than me, and knowing my mom, she probably does.

Argost was attacking Washington D.C. with part of his army. And so that's where we went, coming up from the ground riding the worm cryptids we met in Africa on my birthday.

Argost was not happy. "That was my moment!"

The bird cryptid he was riding flapped its wings, causing a strong gust of wind and knocked us off the worm cryptids, but Zon and the flying cryptids in my control caught us.

"Get airborne," I said. "This is it. Go!"

I fought to get in control of Argost's cryptids and I was able to with some of them. Zon flew me above Argost and I slingshot the claw at him, but so did he at me with his.

"You're fighting a sideshow and missing the circus, boy," he said. "This is one battle in a global war."

"Yeah," I agreed. "And did you really think you were the only one with a cryptid army?"

Washington D.C. wasn't the only capital city being attacked. Both of our armies were all over the planet.

Argost clutched his head in pain.

I jumped down on to his bird. "You can feel it, can't you? You know you're losing."

He was about ready to attack me when Doyle flew in and tackled him off.

"Doyle!" I called.

I climbed back on Zon.

"Zak!" Sarah called. She was flying on her Charizard toward us. "Let him and your mom handle him."

"I can't," I said.

"You would want to if you lost your parents like they did."

"I know, but that doesn't mean they can still do this on their own."

I had Zon fly me toward Argost. Mom and Doyle had him on the steps of the White House. Mom was about to hit him with her fire sword, but I knocked it away with the claw. Argost then lunged at her, but I kicked him away and landed next to them.

Mom moved toward him, but I held her back.

"Mom, no," I said. "You guys can't do this."

"Don't get into this," Doyle said.

"You know better than any of us what he's doing right now, Zak," Mom said. "The whole world needs him stopped."

"I know, but I also know it's not about the whole world for you guys right now," I said.

My family, plus Sarah and her family, came around us.

"I've been fighting my own darkness too long to let you give in to yours," I continued.

Mom and Doyle looked sympathetic now.

"There has to be a better way."

"Yeah? Like what?" Doyle asked.

"I don't know. But—"

"Guys!" Sarah called frantically.

Too late.

I heard the music and immediately began screaming in pain. Argost too. But I don't think we were the only ones. We heard the music and felt the pain from it for, I don't know, five minutes? It felt like a long time before it finally ended.

The Secret Scientists. It was them who was playing the flute of Gilgamesh. I noticed it broke off of Dr. Beeman's aircraft.

"Doyle, the weapon," I heard Dad say.

Doyle moved to get it, and he almost did, but one of Argost's flying creatures got it, then his other flying cryptids grabbed him and they all flew off.

"No!" Mom said. She ran up to Van Rook. "Give me your jetpack."

"What?" he asked.

"Hurry. I'll pay for it."

"You always did know the way to a man's heart."

"Drew!" Dad called. He was checking up on me. "He needs us right now. Anything else can wait."

She sighed. Then she came over and pulled me into a hug. "It's alright, sweetie. We've got you. Mom's got you. It's all going to be ok."

"We'll catch him," Dad assured her. "I promise."

"Ow," Sarah said. "That really hurt."

I looked at her and noticed that she, Zack, and Raylee were clutching their heads.

"I haven't felt a pain like that in almost sixty years," Raylee said. "And I've been pregnant since then."

"Wait," I said. "You guys were effected by the flute music too? How?"

"Zak, our powers can do almost anything," Sarah said. "And a part of our powers are like yours. So, yes, the flute's music hurt us as well as you and Argost, and it really hurt."

"Makes me kind of glad that I no longer have my powers," Set said, him having checked on her.

"Shut up. Oh, and Zak?"

"What?" I asked.

She glared at me. "You know what."

I thought about what she meant for a moment, and I did know what. "I know. I know."

"As long as you know it."

Sarah knew that the Secret Scientists wouldn't keep away from me for six months. It's only been one month since we made that deal. And, unfortunately, she was right.

* * *

Me and my family and Sarah and hers and Van Rook went back to the airship and looked at a holographic map of the planet on the war on every continent.

"We're still good," I said. "Argost's cryptid army—" I stumbled.

Fisk checked on me.

"I'm ok. Just tired. Still not use to this much power. But the good news is, Argost is doing worse. His cryptids are losing strength, even pulling back in some battles. Beeman's flute weapon must've hurt him more than we thought. If we go after him now, we may be able to stop this whole war."

"I'm in," Mom said.

No surprise there. Everyone else agreed.

"I'm with you 'til the end, Zak," Dad said. "But how are we suppose to find Argost?"

I activated my powers. "I've got some guys on it."

The bunyips, to be exact, and it didn't take long to find him. He was at Weird World, no surprise, so that's where we headed.

* * *

We put our airship in camouflage, made with Raylee's help, which Komodo was very grateful for, and moved in close.

"Hold it for another minute, Raylee, and we'll be ready to move in," I said.

"I'm pretty sure I can hold it all day," she replied. "Maybe."

"It's not a 'we' this time, Zak," Dad said. "You're sitting this one out."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "But I'm the one who knew he was here. I'm Kur."

"And that's exactly why you're staying in the airship," Mom said. "Argost has Beeman's flute weapon, the one thing we know can destroy you."

"What if he's got more cryptids in there? You need me to—"

I felt a sharp pain in my head and clutched it, screaming.

"Zak?" Dad asked.

I was seeing a lot of different things in my head. "Argost. Something's . . . happening. They're not . . . trying to fight anymore. They want . . . a master. So much rage, it hurts."

I screamed in pain again and collapsed.

Fisk caught me.

"Zak!" Mom called.

"Fiskerton, stay with him," Dad said. "Everyone else, we're going in. Now."

And they left, but Sarah gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before she went with them, and they were gone. A little while later, the bunyips were showing me something inside Weird World.

"Nagas," I said. "Fisk, we have to go."

He didn't argue.

Into Weird World we went.

* * *

Everybody was having a really hard time fighting the nagas. There were so many of them, and they had them surrounded.

"They can taste the elimination of your species," Rani Nagi said. "We have found the one true Kur in V.V. Argost, and His Majesty will devour this world."

"This world's already got a Kur," I said, which surprised them, and a family a little bit.

Fisk and I attacked them. I was good, if I do say so myself, knocking and hitting Rani Nagi. I stood strong with my family and friends.

Rani Nagi was about to attack Fisk when she got interrupted.

"Enough!" Argost said. He appeared right in front of us. "This is my home. Please mind the décor. I came to offer a truce. All I want is my young Kurling. If the boy comes with me, everyone else goes free and the war of the cryptids will be haltered immediately."

I found that kind of surprising.

"Argost," Mom said. "Shut your blood thirsty lying mouth."

She grabbed her fire sword and stood in front of me, but Rani Nagi knocked her away, Mom dropping her fire sword in the process. Rani Nagi was about to attack her again, but Sarah stopped her with her fire.

"Don't you dare," she warned.

Rani Nagi looked at her closely, then at me. She kept looking back and forth between us.

"You," she told Sarah. "You have his heart."

In response to that, Sarah's diamond on her necklace began to glow.

Rani Nagi lunged her tail at her, wrapped it around her neck, and lifted her up into the air, choking her.

"Sarah!" I called.

She definitely couldn't breathe. She was choking and her head was beginning to turn pale.

"If you wish for me to let her go, you go with Argost," Rani Nagi said.

I didn't know what to do. I looked up at Sarah, and seeing her struggle like that hurt me to the core. I was not going to allow her be hurt anymore because of me.

"Let's go," I told Argost.

Rani Nagi threw Sarah into a wall and she collapsed to the floor, coughing. Raylee checked on her.

I walked toward Argost.

"No!" Dad called.

My family ran to me, but the nagas blocked their path.

I looked at Sarah from in between them. She looked at me, and we made eye-contact. I mouthed the words "I love you", then left the room with Argost.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

Zak had left the room with Argost.

I was still processing what he told me. He said he loved me, or mouthed it at least. I've been waiting for him to tell me that for the past few months, and me working up the courage to tell him myself. He finally said, or mouthed, it to me at a moment that he could die, which is common for most tragic love stories.

But I didn't want ours to end tragically. And I think my necklace agreed with me, because the diamond was glowing. But the worst thing about this: I didn't tell him I loved him back, and I do. And now it was too late . . . Or was it?

People always say that, if you love something, let it go. But my mom has always told me that, if I love something or someone, fight to keep them forever until the end as long as that person feels the same way about you as you do about them.

I knew Zak felt that way about me. And that's exactly what I was going to do.

I had my powers teleport me to Zak.

* * *

When I reached him, he and Argost were just a few feet in front of me.

"Zak!" I called.

He turned around. "Sarah? What are you doing here?"

I ran to him. "To be with you. Zak, I'm not leaving. If this is where it ends, I want to be there with you until the end."

"Sarah—"

"You would do it for me."

He sighed, but smiled. "Forever and always.

I clutched my still glowing necklace. "Forever and always."

I wanted to kiss him and tell him I loved him, but not in front of Argost.

"How touching," he said.

I glared at him. He continued to walk down the hallway, and Zak and I followed.

"So, what?" Zak asked. "Now we fight one on one? Kur versus Kur? Or anti-Kur? Whatever you are."

"Tempting," Argost replied. "But having seen your full power in action, I must answer no thank you."

I laughed.

"Did you honestly think this would some kind of exercise in chess puffing mutt chismo? Dear boy, you've been watching far too much television."

He led us down some stairs into a room, then a small tube came down from the ceiling and encased him in it.

"So much more sensible just to steal that power from your lifeless husk," Argost said. "Goodnight, young Saturday."

We got our weapons ready.

Something came out of the wall about thirty feet away, a manikin of some kind, and it was holding Beeman's flute weapon. It played the music. Zak and I both began screaming in pain. I could seriously feel my powers begin to be sucked from me.

We attacked Argost's soundproof tube, but the music really hurt us that we couldn't put enough power into our swings to break it.

"Sorry," Argost told us, clearly not meaning it. "Sound proof and impervious. But, please, keep struggling. I need some amusment in the midst of so much tragedy.

Zak slingshot his claw at the flute and I helped him try to pull it away, but it was no use.

"A power transfer worked so well with your antimatter double ganger, the Monday boy," Argost said. "I hope you'll forgive an old showman his need for an encore. Now open up and saw 'Aww'."

He grabbed a couple of Devonian Annelids from his cloak sleeve, attached one end of each to his head, and the other ends to Zak through the tube.

He screamed in pain even more than before. I crawled over to him and tried to hold him in comfort, but the music started to become too much for me to bare any longer. It was unlike anything I've ever felt before.

I tried to fight to stay with Zak, until the end, but I just couldn't anymore. I reached my end.

I collapsed onto the ground and became unconscious.

* * *

I woke up lying on a bed, in my house, but it wasn't in my room. It was actually Emily's. And the scary thing was, I wasn't the only one lying in the bed. Someone had their arms around me and my back was to that person.

I was afraid to turn around and see who was holding me, but I knew I had to eventually. So I did, after working up the courage to.

It definitely wasn't Zak. I actually didn't know who he was. I just knew that I wanted to get away from him. So I did the logical thing: I screamed my head off and fell out of the bed trying to untangle myself from his arms, which woke him up.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

I was able to get a good look at him now.

He appeared to be about sixteen-years-old at least. He had sandy-blond hair and blue eyes that looked friendly, but at the same time, dangerous.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" I asked him.

He looked confused. "Uh, your boyfriend."

That surprised me.

I shook my head. "No, you're not. I don't even know who the fuck you are."

He stood up from the bed and came close to me, but I took a step back from him and summoned fire to my hands. "Stay back."

"Are you alright, Emily?" he asked. "Did you hit your head or something? How could you not remember who I am? I think your powers keep you safe from having amnesia."

My ears were ringing.

"What did you just call me?" I asked.

"Emily. Isn't that your name?"

Emily? Why did he think I was Emily? Then again, I didn't know who the hell this guy even was.

Something was very wrong with my world right now.

* * *

 **Cliff hanger! Honestly, I think these next few chapters were my favorite to write for this story. You may even know why once you read them. But what do you guys think happened to Sarah? Who's the guy that she woke up in bed with, and why does he think she's Emily, her baby sister?**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	61. Everything Has Changed, Part 1

**Sarah's POV**

"Emily, are you ok? You sound weird."

I still couldn't wrap my head around this. Why did this guy, whose name I didn't even know and, at the moment, didn't care enough to ask, think that my name was Emily?

"What do you mean that my voice sounds weird?" I asked him.

"I mean that it sounds different from what it usually sounds like," he replied.

"Do you mean that in a good or bad way?"

"I'm not sure."

"I'm not sure either. Look, I don't know who you are, but I know that you're not my boyfriend. And don't even think about reasoning with me, because I won't with you. I need to go find my mom."

"Yeah, I think you should."

"Oh, shut up." I opened the door and left the room. "Mom!"

I looked in her room and didn't find her there. It was morning, and I usually always found her in the kitchen, so that's where I went. The sandy-blond haired guy followed me, which was annoying, but I let him.

My mom was in the living room with the animals and Pikachu with her, like they always were.

"Mom," I said. "What's going on?"

They all stared at me like I spoke another language or something. Well, it was the language of confusion.

"What?"

Mom shook herself out of her daze. "Sorry. You just . . . sound different."

"Yeah, uh, I think she also has amnesia, 'cause she doesn't recognize me at all," the sandy-blond haired guy said.

"I don't have amnesia," I said. "I may not remember you, but I remember that she's my mom. Amnesia means that you lose your memory completely, that also means your own name."

"I know what it means."

"Apparently not."

"Emily, stop it," Mom said.

I looked at her. "Why did you just call me Emily?"

"I—I don't know."

"What do you mean, Mom?" the sandy-blond haired guy said.

That surprised me. "Mom? You just told me that you were my boyfriend and you're calling my mom 'Mom' like she's also your mother?"

"Well, she kind of is."

"That's disgusting."

"Emily, what's wrong?" Mom asked.

 _Everything_ , I thought, but didn't say.

"Umm, I'll be right back," I said.

I ran down the hallway and into the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't look different at all from the way I usually look, but I seemed to be a little taller than I remembered.

I noticed something else too: the necklace Zak had given me was not around my neck. I vowed never to take it off when he put it on me, but now it was gone.

I got out of the bathroom and went to my room. That, however, was different. The walls were no longer violet, but silver. The shelves that were on them with my collection of stuffed animals were gone. My desk, bed, and nightstand were still there, though, except in different places around the room. On the nightstand there was a silver clock and a picture.

I picked up the picture and looked at it. That sandy-blond haired guy was in it. There was also a little girl, maybe about seven or eight years old, sitting on his lap. She had blonde hair and gray eyes.

Gray eyes? That's something I've never seen before. She also seemed to be carrying some kind of knife by her side. She looked cute.

The two of them were smiling in the photo like they were the happiest kids alive. I thought that maybe they were brother and sister, but they looked nothing alike besides their blond hair. But that doesn't mean they weren't.

I put the picture back down and went to my bathroom. The walls in there were no longer lavender either, but silver as well.

I looked in the mirror again, this time, more closely. I looked like myself, but I somehow knew that it wasn't me. It's like my mom. We look ever much alike and if we were the same age, we could pass of as twin sisters, not a mother and daughter.

And speaking of twin . . .

I left the bathroom and went into Zack's room. He wasn't there and his room was different too.

"Emily?"

I groaned and turned around and faced the sandy-blond haired guy. I was going to walk pass him when I noticed a black dragon about the size as Luke standing close behind him.

"Hey, boy," I said, slightly confused. He greeted me and I ran my hand across his scales. "What's your name?"

"His name's Black," the sandy-blond haired guy said.

I glared at him. "I was talking to him. Now, if you don't mind, I need to find my brother." I went back to the living room. "Mom, where's Zack?"

"Uh, probably at his house?" she replied. "Why?"

That surprised me. "At his house?"

"Yes. It's actually his birthday today."

"His birthday?"

"Yes. We're going to celebrate it later. After all, you only turn every age once, and you should always celebrate it until you're tired of celebrating it like I am. Though, his birthday hasn't been so much of a celebration in a long time."

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head, a tear streaking down her face. "It's hard to talk about."

"Umm, ok."

Today was Zack's birthday. And since we're twins, that means it was also my birthday. But that didn't make sense. Yesterday was our birthday, the day the War of the Cryptids began. Yeah, I didn't tell Zak about it, nor did I last year either because I had met him just before I turned eleven. I didn't want him to make a big deal about it.

And speaking of him . . .

"Is Zak going to come celebrate?" I asked.

They looked confused.

"Umm, it is his birthday," Mom said. "So, yeah."

"No, not that Zack. I mean Zak Saturday. Is he going to come?"

Their expressions changed from confusion to concern.

"Emily, you don't have to worry about him," Mom said. "He's not going to come."

"Worry about him?" I asked. "Umm . . ." I decided that I wasn't me, so I improvised. "Thanks . . . but I think Sarah would want him to come. After all, it is her birthday too."

It felt weird talking about myself in the third person.

They looked at each other.

"She's right," Mom said. "Sarah would want that. And we do still keep some contact with the Saturdays."

"Are you sure Sarah would want that after what he did to her?" the sandy-blond haired guy asked, gesturing to me.

"You never knew Sarah," Mom said. "She and the rest of us know that he would never do something like that on purpose. Especially not to her sister, who was just a baby at the time."

"He still did it," he argued.

"I'm not going to argue with you about this, again. But, Emily, if you want to invite Zak for Sarah, I think it's some what of a good idea. But you're going to have to ask Zack first, your brother."

I nodded. "Ok. Then I'll go find him right now."

Mom turned toward the guy. "Can you go with her?"

"I am," he replied.

"No," I said. "I want to go alone."

"Do you even know where he lives?"

"Yes," I lied.

"You don't sound too sure."

"Well, I can find him without your help."

"Emily, let him go with you," Mom said. "Please. And you two can bring Annabeth back with you."

I restrained myself from asking who she was.

I sighed. "Fine. But don't you even dare try and touch me, ok?"

He held his hands up. "I can do that better than Zak can. Come on, Black."

Well, at least we were bringing him with us.

He stood next to the guy and we went outside. The sandy-blond haired guy headed down the street. Black and I walked by his side. I was getting really annoyed of calling him that.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

He looked at me. "Luke."

"Luke . . . ?"

"Castellan."

"Luke Castellan?"

"Yeah. You got a problem with that name?"

I shook my head. "No. It actually seems to fit you."

"What's up with you?"

I thought he was talking to me, but then I noticed Black looking at me and he kept brushing himself against me.

 _I don't know_ , he replied to Luke, though I doubt he could understand him like I could. _She feels different._

"It's my aura," I told him.

"What do you mean?" Luke asked. "Your aura?"

"Never mind. Now, where's Zack's house?"

"Right here."

We stopped in front of a house about a few houses down from my house.

"Well, that's convenient," I said.

Zack answered it a moment later. "Hey, guys. Come on in."

"Hey, guys," he greeted. "Come on in."

I couldn't believe me eyes. Zack was a grown adult. Even his voice sounded older that I wouldn't have been able to recognize it if I talked to him on the phone. So you could say that I stood frozen in the doorway until Luke nudged me.

We entered into his house. I couldn't believe how similar it looked to our house, but I knew that houses in the same neighborhood sometimes looked identical on the inside.

"Happy birthday," Luke said.

"Thanks," Zack replied. "Though it hasn't really been happy for me for many years."

"Zack, who is it?" a woman's voice called from down the hall.

"It's Emily and Luke, of course."

 _Don't forget about me_ , Black complained.

"Oh, right. Sorry. And Black."

The woman entered the room with a smile on her face. "Hello, and good morning, guys."

The woman was my best friend, Selena. I wanted to cry with happy tears. That must mean . . .

"Are you two married?" I asked.

They looked at me, surprised.

"Of course we are," Zack replied, wrapping his arm around her. "You were the flower girl at our wedding, remember?"

"Umm . . ."

"You sound different, Emily," Selena noted.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "Your voice doesn't sound the same, but like someone familiar."

"She doesn't remember that I'm her boyfriend," Luke said. "But she seems to remember who you guys are."

"Is that so?"

Zack and I made eye-contact. I was hoping that he'd realize that it was me, not Emily, but then we were interrupted.

"Luke!" a small voice called.

A little girl ran into the room. It was the girl that was in that picture on my nightstand, and her eyes really were gray. I assumed that she was Annabeth.

She ran up to Luke.

"Hey, there's my little girl," he told her with a big smile on his face. "Did you have fun at your sleepover with Peter?"

"Yeah," she replied. "But we watched a scary movie last night and I had nightmares about it."

"What was the movie?"

"Friday the 13th."

"Really?" Luke glared at Zack and Selena, who were smiling sheepishly. "You let her watch that?"

"They wanted to watch a scary movie," Selena said. "So we got them that."

He sighed and turned back to Annabeth. "It was only a movie. Nobody like that exists."

"My mother would say different," I muttered.

"I know," Annabeth replied. "But if somebody like that does exist, I can cut them with my knife"—She unsheathed it from its sheath on her side and held it up—"'cause they can't be mortal, but I know that you can cut them better than me."

"Hey, don't underestimate yourself. You're just as strong as I am."

"I doubt that."

"Well, you are. And you'll realize it yourself someday. But I'll always be there to protect you."

She smiled. "I know you will."

She gave him a hug and he hugged her back.

I wanted to cry. That was the cutest thing I've ever seen.

"Is she his sister or his daughter?" I asked.

"Neither," Zack replied.

"Well, they're brother and sister," Selena said. "Just not biologically."

"Annabeth!" a voice called.

A boy, who was similar to Zack and was about the same age as Annabeth, came into the room.

"There you are."

"Sorry, Peter," she said.

"Let's go play."

"Hold on," Selena said. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" Peter asked.

"It's your dad's birthday."

"Oh. Happy Birthday, Dad."

Zack smiled. "Thank you. You can go play now."

"Cool. Come on, Annabeth."

"Wait," I said. "How old are you?"

"I'll be nine in three months. And you sound weird, Aunt Emily."

"Yeah, you do," Annabeth agreed.

"Yeah, I got it," I said. "But you're nine?"

"In three months I will be," Peter said.

"How old are you turning today, Zack?"

"Twenty-five," he replied. "Why?"

I did the math: 25-9= . . .

"Oh my God," I said. "You two had him when you were sixteen?"

"Yeah, I know," Zack said. "But we were able to make it work out. We got married a few years ago, bought this house, and even had another child."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Selena said. "Do you not remember? Anyway, she's still asleep, and I don't want to wake her up yet."

"Oh, ok. Umm, I actually came here because I needed to come and ask you something, Zack."

"Ok," he said. "What?"

"It's about your birthday party. I was wondering if Zak could come. You know, Zak Saturday?"

His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because it's Sarah's birthday too, and she'd want him there, and you know it."

Zack and Selena looked at each other.

"She's right, Zack," Selena said. "Sarah would want him there, and you two are still friends, even after what he did to Emily."

"I know," he said. He looked like he was about ready to break. "But Zak's less likely to celebrate than me considering the fact that this is the day that she . . ."

Selena rubbed his arm in a comforting way, and she looked about ready to cry. "I know. But she wouldn't want you to grieve like this unless it was like those few months you were kidnapped, and it wasn't."

"I know." He looked at me. "Emily, I'll try to get Zak to come, but I can't guarantee you he will."

I nodded. "Thank you. And tell him that I need him there along with everyone else in our family."

"Why?"

"Just do it. You'll find out why later, ok?"

He nodded. "Ok."

"Alright. I guess I'll go home now and I'll see you guys later."

"Annabeth, do you want to come with us?" Luke asked.

"Sure," she replied.

"I thought we were going to play?" Peter asked.

"We can play later, Peter, ok?"

He looked sad. "Ok." Then he ran off.

"Uh, we're going to go then," I said.

"Ok," Zack replied.

"See you later."

"See ya."

Luke, Black, Annabeth, and I left the house.

"I think he likes you," I told Annabeth.

"Who?" she asked.

"Peter."

"Oh. Yeah, I think he does too."

"Do you like him, too?" Luke asked.

"Not in that way. I'll race you up the hill."

"Like you can beat me."

"If you give me a chance I will."

"Ok. I'll give you a five-second head start. Go."

Annabeth ran up the hill.

"One . . ." Luke started counting. "Two . . . three . . . four . . . five."

He ran after her. When he reached her, he picked her up and swung her around.

"Hey, no fair!" she complained.

"I told you you couldn't beat me."

"Someday I will."

"I'm sure you will someday too. Now let's go home."

I couldn't help but smile.

* * *

We got back home.

"Mom!" I called.

She was in the kitchen.

"Hey," she said. "What did Zack say?"

I told her.

"Yeah, it could be hard for Zak."

"Uh, yeah," I agreed, though I didn't know why.

"I'm sure it's going to be hard for most of us," a man said, appearing next to Mom. "It has been ever since that happened."

"I know," Mom said.

I couldn't believe who the man was. "Nick?"

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Uh . . . nothing."

"Ok."

He was here. Mom knows that her first husband was alive. But how? And where's _my_ dad?

"Hey, Annabeth," Mom said. "Did you enjoy your sleepover?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"Zack and Selena let her watch Friday the 13th," Luke said. "And now she's having nightmares because of it."

"Really?" Mom asked in disbelief. "But you've seen scarier things than that in person."

"I know," Annabeth said. "But not someone like that."

"Yet," Luke added.

"Well, ok," Mom said. "Did you have breakfast yet?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No."

"Would you like some?"

"Yes."

"How about you guys?"

"Sure," Luke replied.

"Umm, no thanks," I said. "I'm going to go down to the music room for a while."

Mom looked confused, but she nodded. "Ok."

I took a glance at Luke. He looked worried, but didn't say anything.

I looked away and headed downstairs.

* * *

Well, nothing's seemed to change too much on our "secret floor". All of the rooms were still there and didn't seem to be different at all. Then I found a work-out gym. It had a treadmill and some weights from five to twenty pounds. I didn't remember this room being here.

I walked past one of the guest bedrooms, then stopped when I noticed an imprinted sign on the door: **Sarah's room**. That intrigued me to go into it, so I turned the door knob and walked in.

It was my room. It looked the exact same way that I left it. So, I guess, I was moved down here and Annabeth took my room upstairs with replicas of my furniture. But I didn't mind. She was cute.

But after being at Zack and Selena's house and what everyone was saying, I came to a conclusion: I had died, and by the looks of it, exactly thirteen years ago. Then I came back to life possessing Emily's body.

I've decided to proceed to be Emily until tonight. The only problem was: I didn't know who Emily was, how she acted. But I guess I'll have to wing it and try my best.

"Emily?"

I groaned and turned around to face him. "Do you ever leave me alone?"

Luke chuckled. "No."

"Apparently not."

I walked past him, bumping into his shoulder on purpose, then I went into the music room. He, of course, followed.

I was walking over to my piano when something caught my eye. I looked over at the shelves of music stuff to my right and noticed a clear container with a blue lid with my name on it. I walked over to it.

I wanted these shelves put here so that I would have somewhere to put my music when I was done with it for the day. On the left side, I made a place to put my recorded music on it and my songs on their own individual disks and in alphabetical order so that if I wanted to listen to a song in particular, I could just grab it and play it instead of having to look through my albums for it. But I have those too.

I opened up the container with my name on it. It had all of my music sheets in it, both the finished music and the unfinished, and they were separated. I picked up some of the unfinished music and looked through it.

"You're not Emily, are you?" Luke asked me.

I sighed. I put the music down and faced him. "No, I'm not."

"Then who are you?"

"My name is Sarah. I'm Emily's older sister, and Zack's twin sister."

"The one that died?"

"Apparently so, though I don't remember that."

"What do you remember?"

I didn't want to tell him because it wasn't any of his business, but I felt like I could and should. So I did.

"I was with Zak—Zak Saturday—my boyfriend. We were in Weird World—"

"Weird World?" Luke asked.

"Yes. Have you heard of the War of the Cryptids?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Ok. How about cryptid? Do you know what that is?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well, I've told my friends about it and they don't, or didn't, understand it at all, so I'm not going to waste my time telling you. Anyway, Zak and I were in Weird World fighting his enemy, Argost. He brought out this magical flute and played it. The magic hurt us and began sucking our powers away from us. Argost was after Zak's powers, and he was trying to take them as his own. But I don't know whether or not he was successful in doing so, because the pain became too much for me to bare and I passed out. Then I woke up here, wondering what the hell was going on. Now I know: I had died and came back possessing my sister's body."

"Why?" Luke asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "But a lot has changed. I mean, Zack's an adult and he's now married to Selena, which I'm glad about. Nick is here with my mom, her finally finding out that he was alive. And I missed it all. Even why everyone is shunning Zak, my boyfriend. Can you tell me why that is, and why you seem to hate him so much?"

"He raped Emily."

I stared at him. "What? He would never do that."

"Well, he did. But everyone thinks that he's innocent for doing that to her instead of her being the innocent one."

"My family wouldn't think that."

"They do. After all, they're inviting him to Zack's birthday party tonight, aren't they? Who invites their daughter or sister's rapist to their birthday party?"

"So what? And FYI, it's my birthday too, since, as I mentioned, I'm his twin sister."

"Should I even bother telling you 'Happy birthday'?"

"No. Especially since you think that my boyfriend raped my little sister."

"He did. And knowing Raylee, I'm surprised she hasn't killed him yet. Or even attempted to. I mean, she's done it before."

I'll admit, I'm surprised myself, because my mom would do that if someone did that to any of her kids. But I didn't even know if Zak really did that or not.

"Well, whatever the case, I'll find out tonight," I said.

"What are you going to do?" Luke asked.

"What I do best: sing a song."

He stared at me. "What?"

"Has nobody told you anything about me? Like that I loved to sing, that I had a record deal and an album?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, they told me that. Emily would actually listen to your songs everyday. It was annoying, but I understood why."

"And why is that?"

"It was the only thing she had to hear your voice."

A tear streaked down my face. It was the only thing she had left to remind her of me.

"Are you ok?" Luke asked.

"I'm fine," I lied. "I just need to work on my song. So can you leave me alone now?"

"Sure."

"And can you also not tell anyone that it's me and not Emily?"

"I won't."

"Thank you."

He left the room.

I grabbed a song from my box full of my music, grabbed my guitar, sat down, and practiced it.

* * *

After that afternoon, we were having the party at our house, and everyone was here, including the Saturdays. I guess Zack was able to get them to come.

I noticed Zak. The white part of his hair was gone, so his hair was completely black. He looked more handsome and less cute without it. I recognized all of the rest of them, except one girl who looked to be about ten and looked really similar to Drew with her white hair. Did Zak get a sister?

I also noticed my parents were talking to Zak's parents. Dad had his arm wrapped around Mom and Nick was standing next to them, looking a little uncomfortable and jealous. Awkward. No . . . it was beyond awkward. I really gotta ask her about that.

There were two women who looked like Mom, and a guy I didn't recognize talking with them. Were those my older half-siblings? Wow.

The animals were playing around, chasing each other and chatting with everyone. There was a German Shepherd with them, but I didn't recognize him.

Everyone was wearing casual clothing, but I wanted to wear a blue dress. Emily also had my sense of style, because I found it in her closet.

We were hanging out in the backyard.

I walked over to Zack, who was sitting in a chair on the lower deck. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied. "But don't think it was easy."

"I can tell."

Zak was keeping a far distance from me and he was watching us from the corner of his eye. There was a woman I also didn't recognize next to him. She had blond hair, but that was all I could see. She was comforting him, and watching us too. Who was she?

"How'd you convince him to come?"

"I told him that you wanted him here. He asked why, but I didn't know why. But he still came. So now do you think you can tell me why you wanted him to be here?"

"You and everyone else here are about to find out why."

I glanced at Luke. He was sitting by the pool, watching Annabeth, Peter, Zak's sister, and another girl, who looked to be about three, splashing in it and playing some kind of game with them with a big bouncy ball.

He turned toward me and we made eye-contact.

I mouthed the words "I'm ready" to him.

He nodded in understanding and began to get them all out of the pool and wrapped in a towel.

"Zack," I said. "I have a birthday surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?" he replied. "What is it?"

"Well, it's for everyone. Can you get their attention for me?"

"Sure. Yo, everybody! Emily's got a surprise for all of us."

Everyone turned toward me. I was use to being the center of attention. I looked around to make sure everybody was watching me. They were.

I picked up a microphone that I had set up with a stand and speakers on the deck. "Umm, hi everyone. I wanted to wish Zack a big happy birthday, and sing a song for him. Actually, the song's for all of you. I hope you all like it."

I summoned my guitar, and put the strap of the guitar around my neck. I took a deep breath and started to play and sing:

Uh, oh, oh  
Uh, oh, oh

You were in college working part time waiting tables  
Left a small town, never looked back  
I was a flight risk with a fear of fallin'  
Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts

I say, "Can you believe it?"  
As we're lying on the couch  
The moment I can see it.  
Yes, yes, I can see it now.

Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time.  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter.  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

Flash forward and we're taking on the world together,  
And there's a drawer of my things at your place.  
You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded,  
You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes.

But we got bills to pay,  
We got nothing figured out,  
When it was hard to take,  
Yes, yes, this is what I thought about.

Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?  
You saw me start to believe for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

Oh, oh, oh, oh

And I remember that fight  
Two-thirty AM  
As everything was slipping right out of our hands  
I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street  
Braced myself for the "Goodbye."  
'Cause that's all I've ever known  
Then you took me by surprise  
You said, "I'll never leave you alone."

You said, "I remember how we felt sitting by the water.  
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time.  
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter.  
She is the best thing that's ever been mine."

Hold on, make it last  
Hold on, never turn back

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

(Hold on) do you believe it?  
(Hold on) we're gonna make it now.  
(Hold on) and I can see it,  
(Yes, yes) I can see it now (see it now, see it now . . .)

I had started crying near the end of the song, because I was singing most of it to Zak.

I looked at everybody, and they all had shocked looks on their faces. Well, all but Luke and the children.

Zak was the first to say something. "Sarah?"

I smiled, more tears streaming down my face. "Hi, Zak. It's so great to see you're alive. And hello everyone else."

They still were all shocked.

Well, I showed them all at once that it was me. Now it was time for me to find out more about what happened.

* * *

 **Wow. A lot of weird things in this chapter. But now you probably know why I liked writing this chapter so much, based on my name. But why do you think this is happening to Sarah? What do you think is going to happen with her and Zak? What do you think about all of this?**

 **Here's a quiz: I originally was going to have Sarah sing** This is Me **, but I thought this song was a lot better for this instead of that because of one sentence in the lyrics.** _What is the name of the song that Sarah sang, who sings it, and what sentence in the made me pick it for her to sing in this chapter?_

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	62. Everything Has Changed, Part 2

**Sarah's POV**

My family was still in shock. It was starting to get really annoying.

"Ok," I said. "Umm, I want to talk to a few of you alone and individually. So, I guess, I'll start with Mom. Mom?"

She shook out of her shock. "Umm, ok. Let's go talk." She came near me and we stood next to the door of our house. "Come on."

"Hold on," I said. "Hey, Luke!"

He turned toward me.

He was sitting next to the pool. I had a wicked smile on my face.

I activated my psychic powers and used them to push him into the pool. Unfortunately, Annabeth was sitting on his lap with her towel wrapped around her, so she fell in there with him. But it was still funny.

"Sarah," Mom complained.

"What?" I smiled innocently. "I've been wanting to do that to him for the past hour."

She shook her head. Then she summoned some towels and handed them to Nick. "Give them to them, please."

He took them. "I will."

"Thank you. Alright, Sarah, let's go."

We went inside and talked in her and Dad's room so that we could still watch everyone in the backyard through the window.

"Is it really you?" Mom asked. "I mean, I believe you and all, but I'm still not sure."

"Well, ask me something that only I would know," I said.

She thought for a moment. "I can't really think of anything that you know that Emily doesn't, but I recognized your voice this morning and not Emily's, so I'll take that as proof."

"Ok."

She smiled. "I can't believe you're here. You're back. But how? And where's Emily?"

"I was hoping you could answer that," I said.

"Sarah, you know I'm not that smart. Anything I know about my powers, I learned from Nick, so you're gonna have to ask him."

"Ok. And speaking of him, you found out he's alive. When?"

"Well, first of all, I could kill you and Zack for not telling me a long time before. And second of all, about eleven years ago. I was walking around the park with the animals and he appeared to us. Or, rather, me. He didn't want to hide from me anymore. He told me about how he talked to you and Zack and that day that your dad and Emily were in that car accident during that first summer we spent with the Saturdays, and a little less than a year after that. He saved Zack from those men that kidnapped and raped him. Another thing I greatly owe him for."

"What happened after that?"

"He wanted me back, and I wanted him back, but I just couldn't leave your father. So, after debating with myself for about a week, I decided that I would stay married to your father, and Nick and I would be friends like the first ten years we knew each other. But we do get to be overly friendly with each other."

"Like an open marriage?"

Mom glared at me. "Why does everyone think that? No. I'll allow myself to kiss him, but nothing more than that."

"But you want it to be more than that," I said, more like a statement than a question.

Mom sighed. "Yes. But I'm not going to do that and Nick respects it and doesn't force me, but I'm sure he wants to, though he's not like that."

"What does Dad think about that?"

"He accepts it. I make them get along with each other. They don't have to be best friends, but I don't want them to be enemies."

"So, frenemies."

"Basically, yes. Neither of them like it, but they'll do it for my sake. Oh, and by the way, your dad has stopped drinking. He's now a recovering alcoholic. Again."

"When did he stop?"

"After you died. Yeah, it's sad how true that line from that song is."

"What song?"

"'If I die Young'. It's a really old song, but in the third verse, there's this line: 'Funny when you're dead how people start listening.'"

"Well, it's true."

"I know, and it sucks."

"Yeah. Now about my death, how did I die?" I asked.

"How do you think you died?"

"By the music from the Flute of Gilgamesh."

Mom nodded. "Yes."

"Huh. Who knew one of my favorite things would actually kill me. And it wasn't even a good song worth dying listening to."

Mom laughed. "No, I guess it wasn't. We really tried to save you, but it was no use. After we got Zak's heart beating again, we really worked on you and—"

"Wait. Zak's heart failed?"

"Yes. For three minutes. Pikachu was able to get it beating again with her electricity. Then we had Plusle, Minun, and Jolteon with you. We worked on you for a whole hour before we knew you were never coming back." Mom started crying at the memory. "Honestly, I don't know which of us took it the worst. Probably Zak, your boyfriend, since he was the only one who tried to commit suicide."

"He did?"

"Yeah. He was mad that we saved him and were not able to save you. He wished that we tried to save you first, and if you didn't come through, not to even bother trying to save him. He really loved you. And he still does."

I looked out the window.

Zak was leaning up against the fence, talking to Zack and that woman he came here with.

I turned back to Mom. "Did he really rape Emily?"

Mom nodded. "She looks a lot like you, as you've probably noticed. Zak couldn't help but think that it was you every time he saw her."

"And you didn't kill him?"

"Normally, I would. I mean, I did to ten men who raped Madison and Kiara many years ago. But Zak became a wreck after he did that, whether it was you or not, he could hardly live with the fact that he did that to her. We all could see how bad he felt about it all, even Emily understood. We felt like we should do something, even he was planning on doing something to himself, but Emily convinced us not to, and we all forgave him."

"Except Luke," I said.

"Uh, yeah," Mom said. "He's kind of the only one who doesn't understand and probably never will, but you can't expect everyone to."

"Can you tell me more about him? Like, why he's even here? And Annabeth too?"

She smiled like she loved to tell this story. "Well, I met Luke about seven years ago after he ran away from his home."

"Oh, great," I said sarcastically. "He's a run away."

"Shut up and listen. He ran away because his father had abandoned him before he was born and his mom is just unexplainably crazy. Anyway, after I had found him, I had grown attached to him."

"You always grow attached to a kid every time you meet one."

"Not every time. Some kids I meet are real brats. Especially teenage girls, no offense."

We both laughed.

"But anyway, yes, I had grown attached to him. Enough that I wanted to adopt him. But he didn't want to be adopted and I wasn't going to force him, but I didn't give up trying. And even though he was nine at the time, he seemed capable of taking care of himself, so I let him and I even gave him a sword to defend himself with. He liked it. So for the next five years, I would go find him at least once a week and get to know him more and more. When he was fourteen, he ran into Annabeth, who was seven and also had ran away because she feels that her father doesn't care about her and her stepmother is a real bitch. Luke and I both became attached to her, I think Luke was more, and from then to now, he takes care of her like she's his—"

"Daughter?" I suggested.

Mom smiled. "Yes, or little sister."

"I've noticed. I've even heard him call her his 'little girl'."

"Yeah, it's cute."

"Ok. Then what happened after they met?"

"Well, Luke gave Annabeth a knife that was given to him just minutes before he met her and she has cherished and learned to fight with it ever since. Then about a little over a year ago, Luke finally agreed to let me adopt him, and Annabeth did too. So they've been a part of our family ever since and everyone in our family likes them, except maybe your dad, but I don't care what he thinks."

"You never have," I muttered. "And I'm guessing Emily likes them, especially Luke since he told me that he's her boyfriend."

Mom smiled. "Yeah. When they met, they showed automatic signs that they were attracted to each other and, eventually, they became a couple."

"But they're kind of brother and sister now. Isn't that illegal?"

"To a certain extent, yes, but you're really the one to talk about that."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"You know exactly what I mean, Sarah."

I felt like I did, but I was afraid to say so and pretended that I didn't know. "What?"

"Zack told me about that kiss you two had after he came back home from when he was kidnapped and raped," Mom said.

"Why?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know, but you really shouldn't be the one to judge Luke and Emily when you yourself have had some kind of over-friendly connection with your own brother. Besides, Luke and Emily aren't related by blood like you and Zack are, so it's fine for them to be a couple. But I made sure just in case."

"Ok. And I can see partly why she likes him so much."

"And eventually you'll see all of why."

"Maybe. But not everything is like I remember it."

"A lot changes in thirteen years."

"Yeah. But I don't remember there being a gym downstairs."

"Luke wanted it, so I gave it to him. Though, I don't know why since he works out more when he's in the arena with his sword and he does that more. But whatever."

"He told me how Emily would listen to my music everyday since it was the only thing she had to hear my voice."

"Yeah. It was the only thing all of us had left to hear your voice. Emily would listen and cry half the time, even if she was listening to a love song. She would even try to finish some of your songs or write one herself, but she just didn't have the skill like you did. She really wish she had gotten to know you before you passed like everyone else did."

"Do you think she'll come and take back control of her body?"

"I don't know. I mean, I don't want you to go, nor do I want to lose her. I just wish there was a way to have you both back."

"So do I."

We sat in silence for a couple minutes.

Then a thought came to mind. "Wait. Mom, I remember when you told me how we can bring someone back to life, like how Nick came back to life. Can't you do that for me?"

Mom had a pained expression on her face. "You only get one chance to do that, Sarah. We took it and we all failed in bringing you back."

"Ok. At least you tried."

"Yeah."

I looked at the cloak on the nightstand and realized that we've been talking for an hour.

"Well, I guess we have nothing else to say at the moment," I said. "And I said I wanted to talk to a few people individually."

"Who do you want to talk to next?" Mom asked.

"Zack, my twin brother."

"Ok. I'll go get him for you."

"Thank you."

Mom left the room, and Zack joined me a couple minutes later.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I greeted back.

He walked over, maybe ran, to me and pulled me into a hug. "I'm glad you're back."

"For now," I muttered.

He pulled away. "Oh, yeah."

I tried to think positive. "So, you married Selena."

Zack smiled. "Yeah."

"And you two had a son at sixteen."

"Yeah. We weren't liking the idea of being parents then until after he was born. Mom agrees."

"Oh, really? Why?"

"Well, he brought me and Selena closer and that's when we knew that we could make this work, be a family."

"And that little girl, is she your daughter?"

He nodded. "Yes. Her name is Sarah. Yeah, as soon as we knew that we were going to be having a girl, we automatically knew what we were going to name her."

I smiled. "Well, I guess, thanks. And happy birthday."

"Right back at you. This is probably the best birthday I've ever had. The only thing that would make it better is if Emily were here too."

My smile faded. "Yeah."

I tried to focus on something other than her. I looked out the window and noticed our siblings.

"Are they Alex, Madison, and Kiara?" I asked.

Zack nodded. "Yes."

"You were right. Madison and Kiara do look a lot like Mom."

"I know. It's creepy."

I smiled. Then it faded again. "You told Mom about that kiss we had."

"Oh. She told you."

I faced him. "Yes. Why did you tell her that? We said we wouldn't tell anyone."

"No we didn't. You died before we could talk about it."

"Oh, right. But still, why did you tell Mom?"

"Well, I don't know. Maybe it was because I was such an emotional wreck then and wasn't giving much thought to what I was saying because I had just lost my twin sister."

I sighed and sat down next to him on the bed. "I understand. But did you say that to Selena?"

"No," he replied. "Just to Mom."

"Well, she's better than anyone else."

"Yeah."

"So, I don't know why, but I want to talk about Luke."

"Ok. What about him?"

"Well, I don't like him so much, but everyone else seems to. What do you think about him?"

"Well, he's pretty cool. He's really good with a sword too. We hang out a lot during the school year while Annabeth is in school."

"Wait. He doesn't go to school?" I asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"Well, Mom gave him and Annabeth a choice when she adopted them if they wanted to go to school. Luke didn't, but Annabeth did. So while she's in school, Luke would hang out with me or Mom or both or walk around the city with Black by his side until Emily and Annabeth got home from school. He would also wait for them by the bus stop before and after they go to school."

"That's nice."

"Yeah. He's really not as bad of a person as he seems. You just gotta get to know him. But Annabeth? She's really attached to him, except for when she's at school. Wherever he is, she's just one step behind him."

"I see that. But you can tell that he's a good enough guy for our sister to be dating?"

"Good enough? Yeah. Do you?"

"I don't know. I don't know him that well, and what I've seen and heard so far doesn't convince me. He's mostly been an ass to me."

Zack smirked. "Well, you'll be convinced eventually."

"We'll see." I stood up from the bed and looked out the window. "Well, there's nothing else I have left to tell you at the moment. And there's still one more person I'd like to talk to. So, if there's nothing else you have to tell me, can you go get him for me?"

"Sure," Zack replied. "I assume you mean Zak?"

"Who else?"

"Ok. I'll get him."

He stood up and walked way, but turned back at the doorway. "It's good to have you back, Sarah. Even if it is just for a moment."

"Thanks," I said. "But I don't know if it's good to be back."

He disappeared. A few moments later, Zak entered the room. He closed the door behind him.

"Hi," he said nervously. "You look beautiful."

I blushed. "Thank you."

I knew I shouldn't have worn a dress, but I couldn't help it.

I stood as far away from him as I could for fear that I might cave and do something that I'll regret in my sister's body.

"Is it really you, Sarah?" Zak asked.

"Yes, it's me, Zak," I said.

"Can you prove it so that I know this isn't a prank . . . again?"

"Again?"

He waved aside the question. "Long story. But please prove to me that it is you."

"Ok. How?"

"Our first kiss. Tell me how that happened."

Well, that's simple. I mean, how could I forget it?

I told him all the details of it and he believed it was me.

Zak smiled. "I can't believe you're back."

"For now," I said, getting annoyed by that.

"Right. How are you—"

"I don't know. But that doesn't matter right now."

"You're right."

"You look different. And I don't just mean your height. That white part of your hair is gone."

"Yeah. It grew out when I was sixteen."

"It makes you look more handsome and less cute."

"Thanks."

I blushed again. "Umm, so I see you have a sister. What's her name?"

"Whitney."

"Whitney Saturday. That sounds alright."

"My parents decided to give me a brother or sister to somewhat help me. She got me to stop trying to—" He faltered.

"To stop trying to kill yourself?" I said.

Zak nodded.

"It's ok. I probably would've tried to do that myself if it were you instead of me."

"I wish it was."

I didn't know if that was a sweet comment or not, so I just forgot I ever heard him say that.

"Where's Set?" I asked. "I haven't seen him all day."

"You probably won't see him at all," Zak said.

"Why?"

"He and Danielle—your evil clone—I guess, ran off into the sunset together about a few months after you died."

I laughed. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Umm, ok." I honestly didn't know what to think about that. "Who's that woman I saw you with all day?"

"That's Amber. She's, uh, my new girlfriend. I met her about ten years ago. She's cool. Not as cool as you, though. She knows all about my relationship with you, and supports it and wish it didn't end. She's kind of also my comforter whenever I dwell about you, so you don't really have to worry about her."

I smiled. "Well, that's good."

"Yeah. You never told me you got a record deal."

I smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. It wasn't a good time since you were avoiding me. And after we made up, I just didn't feel like I should tell you yet. Though, I didn't know why."

"Well, it's no surprise that every song on your album is as great as every other song you sing."

"Thank you."

"I just wish I could've heard you sing them all in person. At least once."

"Yeah."

He took a step toward me, but I took one back. He took that as a clear sign to stay away.

Then he squinted at me. "I thought we buried you with that."

"With what?" I asked.

"Your necklace."

"My necklace?"

I looked down my neck and saw the actual necklace that Zak had given me around it. But how was it there?

"Huh. Ok. I really love this necklace. But I woke up with it not on this morning, and now it's on. I wonder how."

"A lot of things happened with us that we never understood," Zak said. "Do you remember how it would glow sometimes?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"And another thing: Do you remember that little girl we also saw sometimes, how we were the only ones that could see her, and how she only appeared when we were in the same room together?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I think I know who she is, or was, since I haven't seen her since before you died."

"Oh, really? Who?"

"Our daughter."

I stared at him. "What?"

"Well, she wasn't alive, just a future vision of her. I mean, if you think about it, she looked a lot like you."

"And she did have your eyes. But why were we seeing her?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe to tell us that we were going to have a life together with her. But now, I guess, that's never going to happen."

"Yeah."

That little girl was our future daughter. I couldn't believe it.

"I never forgave myself for losing you," Zak said.

"It wasn't your fault," I said.

"Yes, it was."

"No, it wasn't. Zak, you really need to stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong. It's not always your fault, and this definitely wasn't."

He sighed. "I never even told you I love you."

"You kind of did."

"Yeah, but I didn't actually say it."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't say it either, which I regret."

"Hey, just because you didn't say it, doesn't mean you didn't feel that way too."

"I know. That moment was kind of a typical moment for that to be said for the first time."

"Yeah. Well, better late than never. I love you, Sarah. And I always will."

"I love you too, Zak."

He hesitated. "I guess it would be too inappropriate for me to kiss you right now."

"Unfortunately, yes, it would be now."

He nodded in understanding, but was really disappointed. I couldn't help it any longer.

I ran to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. Zak wrapped his arms around me and we hugged for a while. And screw it. I pulled away enough to see his face, and I pulled him into a kiss. A long, way overdo, passionate kiss.

I'm a little ashamed to say that it went a little too far.

Zak picked me up and laid me down on my parents bed. He kissed me a few times on the lips, then down to my neck, which felt so good, and he began working on my dress. He unzipped it and brought it halfway down my body to my hips, leaving the top half of me in my bra. He kissed my stomach gently. It felt amazing.

I wanted to continue, but I knew I had to stop. So I, reluctantly, did.

"Zak, stop," I said. "Please."

"Why?" he asked.

I sat up and moved away from him and put my dress back on. "We can't do this. Not while I'm in my sister's body and not my own. And I know this isn't exactly the first time for you with her. I know you raped her."

Zak sat down on the bed slowly, looking guilty. "I didn't mean to do that to her. I was drunk, but that's no excuse. And your song is right: every time I look you, it's like the first time. And that's exactly what I saw every time I looked at Emily. She looks so much like you that I couldn't help it. That's another mistake I can never take back."

"I know you didn't mean to hurt her," I said, tears beginning to form from my eyes.

"I still did."

I looked outside. It was sunset now, and it was getting dark.

"You should go," I said. "It's getting late."

"Yeah. Yeah, ok. At least I got to say goodbye to you this time." He stood up and walked to the door. "I love you, Sarah, and I'll never forget what we had or could've had together."

"I love you too, and neither will I. Goodbye, Zak."

He left the room without another word. I collapsed to the floor and broke down in tears.

This was, officially, the worst birthday of my life.

* * *

 **Aww. Poor Sarah and Zak. They can never be together again. And that Mysterious Little Girl that they always saw was their daughter that they're probably never going to have together. What do you guys think is going to happen now?**

 **Anyway, the answer to my last quiz was** _Mine, by Taylor Swift_ **. And the one sentence in the lyrics, which was the reason I chose this song for Sarah to sing was, as Zak said:** _Every time I look at you, it's like the first time._

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	63. Everything Has Changed, Part 3

**Sarah's POV**

That night was terrible. I didn't get any sleep at all, and just cried all night.

At one point during the night, I heard someone scream. Normally, I would get up o see what happened, but I wasn't in the mood to. I don't think anything serious happened, so I stayed in my (or Emily's) bed.

The next morning, I got out of bed and prepared myself for the day ahead.

I don't know why, but a part of me felt like I should peek into Luke's room, so I did. He was still asleep, but he wasn't in the bed alone. Annabeth was sound asleep next to him. That worried me.

I walked toward them and Luke woke up as I approached.

"Uh, what the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked.

"Uh, sleeping," he replied.

"That's not what I meant. Why is she in here with you? Doesn't she have her own bed?"

"Yes, but thanks to our brother and sister-in-law allowing her to watch that scary movie the other night, she's been having nightmares about it and came to me for comfort."

"Is she the one I heard screaming last night?"

"Yes. Thanks for coming to check on her."

"Hey, I had a rough night last night."

"Yeah, so did I. My girlfriend's dead sister is possessing her body and she used her powers to push me and Annabeth into the pool."

I smirked. "You deserved it."

"For what?" he asked.

"For being an ass."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Now, if you don't mind, it's 6:00am, and I would like to try and get some more sleep."

"Fine. But how about I take Annabeth and get her some breakfast while you try to get some more sleep?"

"Ok."

I bent down next to her. "Annabeth, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open a couple moments later. "Is it morning?"

"Yes, it is. So how would you like some breakfast while we let Luke here get some sleep?"

"Ok. But you're not coming, Luke?"

"I'll catch up with you later, ok?"

"Ok."

He gave her a kiss on her forehead and she hopped out of bed. Then we headed to the kitchen.

"Ok," I said. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Umm, pancakes," Annabeth replied.

I smiled. "I want pancakes too. Do you want to help me make them?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. I'll get the ingredients and you can mix them."

"Ok."

I got the ingredients, Annabeth got the bowl. We set them all on the island and began to mix them. Then I got the grill out and made the pancakes. I also made some bacon. Mom came in a few minutes later.

"Hey, Mom," I said. "Want some pancakes?"

"You know how much I like pancakes," she replied.

"Yes, I do."

I gave Annabeth her stack first, then I did Mom's and mine.

I wanted to talk to Mom alone, so we ate on the dining room table while Annabeth ate on the island.

"So how'd it go with Zak last night?" Mom asked.

"Horrible," I replied.

"What happened?"

"I don't think you want to know."

"It doesn't really matter to me whether or not I want to know. But if you don't want to tell me, you don't have to."

"Well, I don't."

"Ok."

"But I do want to talk about Luke."

"Ok. What about?"

"Why does Emily like him so much? I mean, he's an asshole."

Mom sighed, but grinned. "Sarah, the only reason he's being an ass to you is because you're being an ass to him."

"Well, how do you expect me to react to waking up thirteen years past the date I remember and find a guy's arms wrapped around me and I don't even know him?"

"Well, when you put it that way, you make a good point."

"Yeah. But why do you like him?"

"Because I feel like he understands me better than anyone else, except maybe Nick, and I understand him."

"What do you mean?"

"Like the situation with him and his father is similar to me and my mother."

"Ok. What's up with him and his father?"

"If you want to know, you ask him yourself."

"Why?"

"Because, Sarah, he's taken for granted a lot. Everyone in the town is suspicious of him."

"In a good or bad way?"

"How can you be suspicious of someone in a good way?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. But I can understand why they would be suspicious of him. I mean, he's kind of intimidating."

"Yeah, but you don't understand why. And you won't until you get to know him."

"I don't think that'll help."

"Yes, it will, Sarah. Luke is really misunderstood by a lot of people, even by your dad. I mean, you've seen how he is toward Annabeth, right?"

I nodded. "He seems to be quite protective of her, which is the only thing I like about him."

"Yeah, well, one time, about a year ago, he was accused by one of our neighbors of having some kind of sexual contact with her, even though the damn asshole didn't have any proof of it and never really witnessed him acting in any way inappropriate to Annabeth. And we have proof of that since we have cameras all over the house, both inside and outside."

"Wow. What did Luke think of that?"

"Ask him yourself."

I sighed. "Fine. But can you at least tell me how his and Emily relationship was?"

"Their relationship is good. I mean, yeah, they do have an argument every once in a while, but who doesn't? And I'd say they have more serious arguments than stupid ones."

"Like what?"

"Well, I'd say that the worst argument they've ever had was about Annabeth a few months ago."

"What, that she doesn't really ever leave them alone?

"No. Neither of them mind about that. They love her and they're not annoyed by her. But, anyway, a few months ago, Annabeth got a letter in the mail from her dad asking her to come home."

"Did she go?"

"She's still here, isn't she?"

"Oh. What happened?"

"Well, she was debating on whether or not she wanted to reunite with her father and was asking us what she should do. Luke didn't want her to go."

"Why, because he didn't want to lose his 'little girl'?"

"Basically, yes. But Emily told her to give her father another chance. Luke didn't like that at all. He argued how Annabeth's father already had his chance with her and blew it and Emily argued back that she believes in second chances and that just because it didn't work out between him and his father, and probably never will, doesn't mean that it can't work out between Annabeth and her father. She also said that if she could ever get a chance to have her sister, you, back, she'd do anything to make that happen."

A tear streaked down my face. I wiped it away. "What did Luke say?"

"Well, he brought up the time that your dad was drunk driving with Emily in the backseat when she was only a few months old then and them getting into a terrible accident almost costing both their lives," Mom continued. "Yeah, that made the situation even worse, especially since Emily didn't even know about that until then."

"I'll bet," I said. "So what happened?"

"Well, Annabeth did go home to her father, but it didn't work out too well, mostly because of her stepmother. So she came back to live with us less than a week later."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Did Luke gloat at how right he was about that?"

"A little bit, but he did try to contain it."

"Sure he did. And that makes me want to get to know him even less."

Mom smiled. "Hey, nobody's perfect."

"I know."

"Can I have more pancakes?" Annabeth asked, coming to us with her empty plate.

"Of course you can," I said.

I got up and made her some more pancakes. Then Luke came into the kitchen, followed by his dragon, Black.

"Hey," I said. "Want some pancakes?"

"Uh, sure," he replied.

I got him a plate, put some pancakes and bacon on it, and gave it to him. He sat down on the island next to Annabeth and started eating. She had finished and moved onto his lap. He didn't seem to mind.

I made eye-contact with Mom. She gestured for me to talk to him.

I sighed. "Hey, umm, do you think when you're done eating that we could go to the park and talk?"

"Uh, sure," Luke replied. "About what?"

"Just things in general."

"Ok . . ."

"Can I come?" Annabeth asked.

Luke looked at me.

"Of course you can," I said.

"Yay."

I smiled. "You can come too, Black."

I gave him a piece of bacon and he happily ate it.

"I made some more bacon for the animals. I know how much they love it."

"Ok," Mom said.

"I'll give it to them."

"Thanks."

* * *

A little while later, we finished with breakfast, got dressed, and went to the park. We took Annabeth to the swings and Black stayed with her while Luke and I climbed on top of a jungle gym twenty feet away.

"Ok," Luke said. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"You," I said.

He looked confused. "What about me?"

"Well, my mom says that I should get to know you and maybe I won't hate you as much as I do now. So tell me about yourself."

"Ok. Well, for starters, I'm a demigod."

I stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"I'm a demigod. A demigod is someone—"

"I know what a demigod is."

"Oh, really? Then what are they?"

"Well, a demigod is another word for half-blood, and someone who's a half-blood is half human, half god. But you're seriously a demigod?"

Luke nodded. "Yes. Annabeth is too. But be quiet when you say that. There's a lot of people here today."

"Ok. But if you're a demigod, who's your godly parent? And who's Annabeth's?"

"I'm a son of Hermes and she's a daughter of Athena."

"So the god of thieves and the goddess of wisdom. They exist?"

"Yes. And don't say that's it cool, 'cause it's not."

"Ok. Now it makes sense why you hate your dad so much since he's apparently a god, but why did you run away from your mom?"

Luke sighed. "I didn't want to run away from her. I had to."

"Oh, you had to," I said sarcastically. "Why?"

"My dad made her insane."

"Insane? What kind of insane?"

"The kind that's hard to describe."

"Ok. Have you seen your mom since you ran away?"

"Once, but that was also when I met my dad for the first time. Not a good experience."

"Ok, let's get off the subject about your dad. Umm, tell me when you met my mom."

"Well, I was nine and it was about an hour or so after I ran away. She was reasonable. She didn't take me back to my mom, she just let me roam free. She even gave me a sword to defend myself with."

"Yeah, my brother told me that you're great with a sword," I said.

"Well, I don't mean to brag or anything, but, yes, I am," Luke replied.

I laughed. "Ok. Back on the subject. What else happened after my mom let you roam free?"

"Well, I moved from city to city quickly. Being a demigod, monsters can sense me wherever I go, so I have to keep moving. Your mother would come look for me almost everyday. I guess she really cared about me. I mean, she asked me if she could adopt me after only knowing me for a few days. But I said no."

"Why?"

"I liked being on my own, and she understood. But that didn't keep her from asking, which was annoying."

"But you obviously eventually said yes. Why?"

"Let's come back to that question later, ok? A lot happened up to the moment that Raylee adopted me and Annabeth."

"Ok. Well, then, how about we talk about your 'little girl'?" I asked.

"Ok," Luke said. "What do you want to know about her?"

"Tell me about how you met her."

"I was fourteen, so about two years ago. Thalia and I were—"

"Thalia?" I asked. "Who's she? Is she also a demigod?"

"Yes," Luke replied. "A daughter of Zeus."

"Zeus? Wow. And she's a girl?"

"I know where you're going with that, and you're wrong."

"So you two were just friends?"

He blushed. "Let's come back to that question later too."

"Ok." I smirked. "Back on Annabeth."

"Thalia and I were resting near an old warehouse in Richmond when I heard a sound from a nearby alley. We went to check it out. There was a sheet of corrugated tin quivering at the end of the alley. We prepared ourselves, knowing that someone was under it. I lifted it up and Annabeth jumped out. She was scared and trying to fight me with a hammer. I disarmed her and calmed her down. I could tell that she was a demigod, and a tough one at that. Surviving for a while, alone, and that young. We introduced ourselves and I gave her a knife that was given to me earlier that day 'cause it was better than a hammer. And from that moment on, the three of us became a family."

I smiled. "That is really cute."

Luke also smiled at the happy memory. "Yeah, it was."

"What happened after that?"

His smile faded. "Well, we were demigods. We couldn't stay in one place for long, so we kept moving. No place in particular, just trying to survive. At one point, we ran into a satyr, Grover. You know what a satyr is, right?"

"Of course I do. They're half man, half goat."

"And their jobs are to find and protect animals and lead them to somewhere safe, and that's what he did with us. No offense to him, but he wasn't the best navigator. He led us into tough situations by accident, though. He was young in human years, so it was understandable, I guess."

"Hey, my mom always told me to never judge anyone by their age. Just because they're older, doesn't mean they're smarter or more responsible."

"Yeah, she told me that too. And that's actually true, because Annabeth is smarter than me."

"I'm sure she is. After all, girls mature more faster than boys."

He glared at me.

I just laughed. "You can continue now."

He did. "Grover finally did lead us to some place safe for demigods eventually, Camp Half-Blood, but not all of us made it."

"What happened?" I asked.

Luke had a pained expression on his face. "Monsters were chasing us. Most of them were going after Thalia since she was a child of the Big Three and their scent is stronger than any other demigods. They were gaining on us and Thalia stayed behind and sacrificed herself to save Annabeth, Grover, and me. The monsters killed her. Her father took pity on her and turned her into a tree. Now her life force is in that tree, possibly still alive, and keeping monsters out of camp with a barrier."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. After that, Annabeth and I lived and trained at camp for a while. Raylee would come see us at least once a week. And, eventually, she asked me and Annabeth for like the millionth time if she could adopt us, and that time, we said yes."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, Annabeth said yes first because your mom guaranteed her that she could keep her safe from monsters with her powers and that she could go to school, and Raylee held to that promise because we've been here for almost a year now and not one monster has come after either of us here. I said yes for two reasons. One, I could tell how much Raylee cared about me, and as much as I hate being taken care of, I'm glad it's her and not someone else. And the second reason was that I was not going to leave Annabeth at all. I promised her and myself after Thalia's sacrifice that I would take care of her and keep her safe, because there are very few people that I trust with her and your mom is one of them. Now, unfortunately, I can't keep her safe at school, but if something happens to her, I will find out and I will make sure that it doesn't happen to her again."

I smiled. "It's like you're related to my mom by blood. But, as you said, Annabeth is a smart and tough girl. I'd think she'd know the right kind of person she should be around. Like you."

"Thank you," Luke said. "And I'm sure of that too. But it doesn't hurt to make sure of that yourself."

"True. But may I ask why you don't go to school?"

"Raylee and I both agree that it's a waste of time. It's useless, and you don't really learn anything. And even if you do, you probably won't remember it a week later, so what's the point?"

"Well, I believe it depends on how devoted you are into learning something new. I know my mom isn't really interested in that most of the time, and, apparently, you aren't either. But what would you do during the week then if you don't go to school? My brother told me that you would hang out with him or my mom or with your dog around town. Do you do anything else?"

"Well, sometimes I would ask Raylee to send me to camp until Emily almost got home. Annabeth and I would go there every weekend and spend most of the summer there. I know it's summer now, but it's a lot less crowded here then it is there."

I laughed. "Ok. So you're glad of being adopted into our family."

Luke nodded. "Yes. And I'm pretty sure Annabeth is too. Raylee treats us like we're her actual kids by blood and not by paper."

"Yeah, she's always like that. But she told me earlier about the situation with Annabeth and her father a few months ago, and how you and Emily argued about it. Why wouldn't you let her go, because I have a feeling that it wasn't just because he already had his chance with her and blew it."

"If you think that, then you probably know why."

"I probably do. It was mostly because of attachment issues. You didn't want to lose her because you care for her like she's your daughter."

He didn't deny it. "Yeah, and she is my tough little girl."

"But not by blood."

"Does she really have to be by blood in order for me to call her my little girl?"

"I guess not. But my mom also told me about that time a neighbor of ours accused you of being sexual in some way toward Annabeth. How did you feel about that?"

"The fact that anyone would think that I would do such a think to anyone, especially to Annabeth, is insulting. I know that some fathers would do that to their daughters, but the idea of me ever doing anything like that to my little girl, sickens me."

I smiled. "You're going to be a great father someday, Luke. Biologically, I mean."

"Everybody tells me that," he replied.

"Because they know it's true. And, because of that, I can see why Emily likes you so much."

"And why's that?"

"Are you kidding? Girls love guys who love kids. Though, most of the time, guys only pretend to love kids to get girls to fall for them. You're not one of them."

Luke smiled. "Yeah, but I don't think that that's the reason why girls like me."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, most of the girls at camp like me, but—"

"Wait. How do you know that most of the girls like you?"

"I can tell by the way they are to me. How they look at me."

"Ok, so you're not a clueless idiot."

"No. It's not that hard for me to tell whether a girl likes me or not. The only time it is is when—"

"You like the girl too."

He nodded. "Yes. That's how it was for me and Emily."

"Ok. But why do you think that, based on how much you care and love Annabeth and that you're not afraid to show it, isn't the reason why most of the girls at that camp like you?"

"Well, because of how they treat her when they're talking—or should I say flirting—with me."

"How do they treat her?"

"Like she's their pesky little sister. They try to shove her away from me and I hate that. So, no. I don't think that's the reason why most of the girls I meet have a crush on me."

"Well, you are quite good-looking."

"Thanks."

I blushed. Why did I just say that? On to a different subject.

"Ok," I said. "I'm going to be a protective older sister and ask you some serious questions."

"Ok," Luke said. "Shoot."

"Alright. First question, have you had any girlfriends before Emily?"

He hesitated. "Yes."

"How many?"

"One, technically two."

"Was the technical one Thalia?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Can you tell me about that?"

"Well, I did have some feelings for her and I think she did for me too. There was a couple times where I attempted to kiss her, but we were always interrupted. It never happened."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Sometimes I can't help but think of what might've been if she hadn't been turned into a tree. Is that bad?"

I shook my head. "No. You met her first. Like with my mom and Nick. It's completely understandable."

"That's exactly what Emily said."

"You told her that?"

"At first, no. But your mom convinced me that I shouldn't keep that from her and that she'll understand."

"And she does."

"Yes. Just like she understands why it's hard for Zak, your boyfriend, to look at her."

My smile faded. "Yeah. Now what about that last girlfriend you had?"

Luke hesitated again. "That didn't end well."

"Does it ever?"

He smirked. "I guess not."

"Ok. Well, tell me her name, her godly parent if she was a demigod, how you two got together, and why you broke up."

"Ok. Her name was Cassandra. She's Annabeth's oldest sister at camp, so she's a daughter of Athena. She also had a crush on me and did whatever she could to hide it. But she liked Annabeth and she's the only person at camp that I really trust with her."

"Wait. So you're saying that the only way you'll ever date a girl is based on how she treats Annabeth?"

He nodded. "Yes. And if she likes her too."

"That's sweet. That's what a good father would do."

"Yes. But that's not what Annabeth's father did, unfortunately, for her."

"Ok. Back on Cassandra. When did you two start dating?"

"About a few months after Annabeth and I first came to camp. She wanted me to meet her in the woods late one night after curfew. I did, and she made me climb up a tree with her. We sat on a branch strong enough to hold both our weights, and she kissed me."

"Wow. I guess she couldn't help her feelings for you any longer."

"No. From that moment on, we became a couple."

"Were you ever attracted to her?"

"Well, the fact that she's Annabeth's older sister, who looks a lot like her, ruined the attraction most of the time. But, yeah, I liked her. She was cool and independent."

"What did Annabeth think about you two dating?"

"She liked it. She also hoped that we would get married someday so that I would be her brother."

"Aww, that's cute."

"Yeah, well, I doubt it's ever going to happen now."

"Why did you break up?"

"Because Raylee adopted me and Annabeth."

I was confused. "What do you mean? Did she not like you leaving her to be with your new family?"

"No, it's not that at all. That came out wrong. When Raylee was getting ready to adopt me and Annabeth, I met Emily for the first time."

I realized what happened now. "Oh."

"Yeah." Luke sighed. "I don't know what happened then. I was just so drawn to her, I couldn't explain it. She was to me too."

"Do you think it was love at first sight?"

"Maybe."

"It probably was, because I, myself, fell in love at first sight."

"Yeah."

"Did she know that you and Cassandra were a couple?"

Luke shook his head. "No. I should've let her know that, but something kept me from telling her, and I still don't know what. After living with her for a few days, one thing led to another, and we kissed."

"When and how did Cassandra find out?"

"Well, I was going to tell her the next time I saw her, but Annabeth beat me to it. Cassandra was angry, sad, and hurt. And it was over with us. She started resenting me, which I didn't blame her, but she would tolerate me for Annabeth's sake since we agreed on that at the start of our relationship. But not a day goes by that I don't regret it. But at the same time, I never felt like my relationship with Cassandra was going to last long. And it just got worse after that."

"What do you mean?"

He adjusted himself uncomfortably. "About a year ago, Cassandra did a crazy thing."

"What?"

"Let's just say she got pregnant."

I stared at him. "Ok. How much crazier does it get after that?"

"Very. She didn't even get his name. Just some nameless idiot trying to help her with her pain."

"Her pain? Oh."

Luke sighed. "Yeah. I was the only person at camp that she told."

"Why did she tell you?"

"Well, I was walking by her cabin, I noticed that she was crying and I made her tell me what was wrong. After that, I helped her through her whole pregnancy. Or, most of it."

"Why?"

"Because I felt guilty about it."

I sighed. "Luke, it was not your fault that your ex-girlfriend allowed herself to get pregnant by some nameless asshole she met and didn't even bother to learn his name. But the pain she had? Well, that was kind of your fault. But we can't always control our feelings. The heart wants what it wants. It's practically impossible to fight it."

"Yeah."

"What happened after that?"

"Well, she stayed at camp until she started showing. Then she went home to L.A. I would go see her everyday, go with her to checkups, anything."

"Did Emily know?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah. She kind of didn't like it. Not because I was with my ex-girlfriend, but because I felt guilty and Cassandra still resented me. She didn't want me to help her at all, but I insisted and she let me. A few months later, she had her son."

"She had a boy?"

He smiled. "Yeah. He had gray eyes like hers and weighed at 6.5 pounds. But I wasn't there when she gave birth to him."

"How come?"

"Because she didn't tell me. He came a few weeks earlier than expected."

"Wait. You helped her through the pregnancy for months and she didn't tell you that she went into labor?"

He shook his head. "No. She didn't want me there. She was giving him up for adoption, but I was trying to convince her not to. She didn't want me there to put pressure on her."

"That's bullshit."

"That's exactly what Emily said."

"Ok. So what happened?"

"Well, she gave him up for adoption and I asked your mom if she could adopt him for me since I wasn't old enough to myself."

"Wow. And what did she say?"

"What do you think she said?"

"Knowing my mom, probably yes."

Luke nodded. "Of course, since Cassandra was the biological mother, she gets to choose who can adopt her son, and she wouldn't let me."

"Why the hell not?"

"She didn't want me to raise him because she kind of blamed me for getting pregnant with him in the first place."

"What? That was not your fault and she knows it."

"Emily was with me then and she argued the same thing with her. But, in the end, she just told us to leave and we did. Everything went back to the same way it was before Cassandra got pregnant as if nothing happened."

"But something did," I said.

Luke nodded in agreement.

"Ok. Let's move on to a more positive subject. You said that you never felt like your relationship with Cassandra was going to last long, and it didn't. How do you feel about your relationship with Emily? Do you think it has any kind of future?"

"Perhaps this will answer your question."

He reached over, grabbed my left hand, and lifted it up. I looked at it and noticed something gold around the ring finger.

"Is that a—"

"Promise ring," Luke finished. "I gave it to Emily last month."

"Wow. You must really love her."

"Yeah, I do."

"But I've gotta say, considering how attached Annabeth is to you, I'm surprised you even have any time to have a relationship."

"Well, one day, she'll be a teenager and start liking boys more and me less."

"And you're ok with that?"

"I never said I was. I'm actually worried about that."

I laughed.

I looked down at Annabeth still playing on the swings with Black. Then I thought of something from earlier.

"She's lucky to have you," I told Luke.

"I know," he replied. "And I'm lucky to have her."

"Yeah. Now let's see how much she enjoys to see you lose to a girl."

"I don't know what you mean, but I have lost to a girl before. Annabeth I've lost to many times."

"Probably because you go easy on her."

"Yes. And she hates it. But even when I don't go easy on her, she beats me half the time."

"She is a tough girl, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is."

"Yes, well, let's see how much she enjoys me beating you."

"At what?"

"Follow me and see."

We climbed down the jungle gym, got Annabeth and Black, and headed home.

I led them into the arena. "Ok." I turned to Luke. "You claim to be a great swordsman. Even my own twin brother thinks so." I found my sword, picked it up, and faced him. "Prove it."

He smiled. "You're on."

He grabbed his own sword and we prepared to fight. Annabeth and Black watched with excitement from the stands. Luke and I gave each other one more confident smile and we charged.

I'll admit, Luke was a good swordsman. I won't go into much detail about it, but it ended with me disarming him first, then he managed to disarm me and use my sword against me with his bare hands.

I was really impressed. "Wow. You are good."

Luke smiled. "Thanks. You're not bad yourself. It doesn't usually take me that long to disarm my opponent."

"Yeah," Annabeth cheered, running over to us. "I knew you could do it, Luke. You always do. No offense, Emily. Or Sarah."

"None taken," I said. "But, uh, if you two don't mind, I would like to go work on some music alone right now."

"Ok," Luke said. "But why?"

"Because I have a couple new ideas for some songs and it's bugging me. And it won't stop bugging me until I work on them."

"Ok. Have fun."

"I will."

I ran off to the music room.

When Luke was telling me about how he met Annabeth along with Thalia and how they became a family, it gave me an idea for a new song. But I'll work on that one later. After my conversation with Luke, I understood him better now. Mom was right: he is misunderstood a lot. He's had a tough life, especially with him being a demigod.

Now, I'm starting to feel something different toward him. Something that I probably shouldn't be feeling, but as I said before, we can't always control our feelings. The heart wants what it wants. And what my heart wants is for me to write this song about what I'm feeling right now.

I grabbed my music booklet and started writing.

* * *

 **Well, Sarah got to know Luke a little more. Things that you guys probably already knew about him, with a little bit extra things that I added.**

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	64. Everything Has Changed, Part 4

**Sarah's POV**

After who-knows-how-long, Annabeth came and visited me.

"Hi, Sarah," she greeted.

"Hi," I greeted back. "So you know it's me and not Emily?"

She nodded. "Luke explained it to me a little bit. I don't understand how it's possible, but I get it."

"I think we all feel the same way."

"You and Emily aren't really that different."

"What do you mean by that, exactly? That we look the same? Sound the same? What?"

"Well, your voices sound different, but your personalities are practically identical."

"Wow. You have a way with words. But, yeah, Luke kind of told me the same thing. Do you like that he and Emily are dating?"

"Yeah. She's really cool and she keeps Luke from being so serious all the time. Especially about me."

"Well, he really cares about you and doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"I know. But if he can take care of himself and protect me, I wanna do the same for him."

"That's fair."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. Then she walked over to the desk, picked up my album, and came over and sat down next to me.

"You're the one singing on this CD, right?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," I replied. "Do you like my songs?"

"Oh, yes. Very much. Emily and I would listen to them everyday, both together and alone. I suggested that we could learn the lyrics and sing along with you like a group, but Emily didn't want her voice to block yours."

"Well, she could turn the music up loud enough to where she can sing along but only hear my voice like my mom does."

"Yeah, that's what your mom suggested, and that's what we did, and it works."

"Awesome."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Umm, Sarah, I've kind of always wondered something about possessions that I hope you could confirm for me."

"Ok. What?"

"If you're possessing Emily's body, where's Emily? In your body?"

I hesitated. I never really thought about that until now.

"Umm, well, my body is probably in a casket somewhere as a skeleton," I said. "So she's probably not there. But where she could be, I have no idea."

"Do you think she's still in her body, waiting to come back?"

"Well, I'm sure she'll come back sometime. No one can possess someone's body forever. If she is still here in her body, she's probably fighting to get back in control of it. And if I had any control over it, I'd let her take her body back."

"Why?"

"Because it's her body, not mine."

Annabeth studied me for a moment. "If Emily is still in her body, I don't think she's fighting for it back."

"Why do you think that?" I asked, surprised.

"Because you're controlling her body. She talks to me about you sometimes. Even though she never really knew you 'cause she was just a baby when you died, she really misses you. And since you're here, controlling her body, she'd want you to stay as long as you can, even if she's not exactly here with you."

I let her words sink in. I also managed to keep myself from crying, but it was really hard. Man, she really was smart.

I decided to focus on something less sad. "Uh, hey. I just finished a new song. Would you like to hear it?"

"Yes, please," Annabeth replied.

"Alright." I grabbed my guitar. "How would you like to sing it with me?"

"Can I?"

"I'm asking you, aren't I?"

"Then yes."

"Ok."

I grabbed the music sheet and handed it to her.

"'Everything Has Changed'?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's a love song."

"It doesn't sound like one."

"What does it sound like?"

"Like it's sad."

"Well, have you ever heard of the phrase to never judge a book by its cover?"

She nodded. "Of course I have. I love to read."

"So do I. And that phrase also means to never judge a song by its title. Understand?"

She nodded.

"Ok. Now there are some lyrics that are repeated."

"Like a chorus?"

"Well, yes. But not the lyrics that I want you to sing with me. It's the lyrics just before the chorus. You can read along and I'll signal you when I want you to sing along, ok?"

"Ok."

I adjusted my guitar and began to play:

 **[Sarah]  
** All I knew this morning when I woke  
Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before.  
And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago  
Is green eyes and freckles and your smile  
In the back of my mind making me feel like

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now  
I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now

 **[Both]**  
I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now  
I just wanna know you, know you, know you

 **[Sarah]**  
'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello."  
And your eyes look like coming home  
All I know is a simple name

 **[Both]**  
Everything has changed

 **[Sarah]**  
All I know is you held the door  
You'll be mine and I'll be yours  
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed

And all my walls stood tall painted blue  
And I'll take them down, take them down and open up the door for you

And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies  
The beautiful kind, making up for lost time,  
Taking flight, making me feel right

 **[Both]**  
I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now  
I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now  
I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now  
I just wanna know you, know you, know you

 **[Sarah]**  
'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello."  
And your eyes look like coming home  
All I know is a simple name  
 **  
[Both]  
** Everything has changed

 **[Sarah]**  
All I know is you held the door  
And you'll be mine and I'll be yours  
All I know since yesterday is

 **[Both]  
** Everything has changed

 **[Sarah]**  
Come back and tell me why  
I'm feeling like I've missed you all this time, oh, oh, oh.  
And meet me there tonight  
And let me know that it's not all in my mind.

I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now  
I just wanna know you, know you, know you

All I know is we said, "Hello."  
And your eyes look like coming home  
All I know is a simple name

 **[Both]**  
Everything has changed

 **[Sarah]**  
All I know is you held the door  
You'll be mine and I'll be yours  
All I know since yesterday is

 **[Both]  
** Everything has changed

 **[Sarah]**  
All I know is we said, "Hello."  
So dust off your highest hopes  
All I know is pouring rain and

 **[Both]  
** Everything has changed

 **[Sarah]**  
All I know is a new found grace  
All my days I'll know your face  
All I know since yesterday is

 **[Both]  
** Everything has changed

I finished the song with a smile on my face.

"That was great, Annabeth," I said. "You have a really beautiful voice."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"And I was impressed by when you sang the 'Everything has changed' line with me, even though I didn't signal you."

"Well, since that was the title of the song, those moments sounded like the right time to say it."

"And they were. You're very bright and smart. Of course, you're a daughter of Athena, right? It's really no surprise."

"Umm, thanks?"

"It was a compliment."

"Oh. Then, thank you."

"You're very welcome. You could be singing that song someday yourself if you'd like."

"But won't I have to be in love first?"

"Well, no. But it would be more special if you were in love. Do you think you'll ever fall in love?"

"I don't know. Cassandra says I will, and that she probably even knows who with, but I hope she's wrong."

"Who does she think you'll fall in love with?"

"Well, we don't know his name or have even met him yet."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, ever since I was seven, every once in a while, I sometimes have a vision of my future."

"Really? Visions of what?"

"Monsters mostly. Whenever I hear the name of a monster or god for the first time, I sometimes have a vision of myself meeting that monster in my future. But in most of them, I'm not meeting that monster alone."

"Who's with you? A boy?"

She nodded. "I don't know his name, but these visions of him are annoying."

"Can you describe him to me?"

"Sure. He has black hair, green eyes. I think he's as old as I am, and he usually wears regular clothing, like pants and a shirt."

"Green eyes?"

"I know. All those visions I have of him really hurt my head."

"And Cassandra thinks he might be your true love."

"Yes. But I hope he's not."

"Why?"

"Because I don't even know him. He seems like a good boy in my visions, and we, apparently, fight a lot of monsters together, but I don't know if I want to fall in love."

"How come?"

"Because love always seems to hurt everyone."

"Well, it's inevitable that you'll get hurt sometimes, but most of the time it's worth it, especially if it's with the right person. And I think your sister's right: that boy in your visions is your true love."

"We'll see about that. Cassandra and I betted on it."

I laughed. "And I'm betting with her."

"Fine by me. But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you think you'll ever find your true love?"

"I think I already have."

"Luke?"

I stared at her. "What? No. Why would you think that he's my true love?"

"Well, that song we just sang was a love song, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Didn't you write it about him?"

"I . . ."

I wanted to deny it, but I wasn't sure now. I have been feeling something different toward him after our conversation earlier, and I knew what I was feeling was a crush. But I love Zak, and Luke's Emily's boyfriend. It would be wrong.

"Umm . . . maybe," I said. "I don't know."

"You will soon," Annabeth said.

"Yeah. Umm, I still have another song to work on, so do you think you can, uh, leave me alone now?"

"Sure. Can I hear it when you're done?"

"Of course."

"Ok. Bye."

She stood up, put my album back on the desk, and ran out of the room.

She's cute, but a little too smart. Oh well. She was my sister, after all. Maybe not biologically, but still.

* * *

Later that night, I was in my bathroom—or Emily's, actually—getting ready for bed.

"Hey," a voice said.

Luke was leaning against the door frame.

"Hey," I greeted.

He walked up behind me cautiously, put his hands on either side of my waist, and leaned his head against the back of my head and breathed heavily.

I knew I shouldn't be, but I was instantly drawn to him. I turned around and faced him. I could tell we both wanted to do the same thing. He leaned into me and I leaned into him. Our lips were just about to touch when we got interrupted.

"Luke," Annabeth called.

I pulled away from him.

"You better go to her," I told him.

"Yeah," he said, and left the room without another word.

I processed what almost happened between us.

We almost kissed. It was kind of similar to when Zak and I first kissed. But we didn't get interrupted until after our lips touched. Well, we'll just try again tomorrow.

I know it was wrong, but so was everything else.

* * *

The next day, I was back in the music room, trying to finish my song.

I had all the lyrics, now all I needed was the music, but I couldn't find the right tune with the guitar or the piano. I looked around the room for any other kind of instrument and noticed the drums. But I didn't know how to play them.

I called Zack and Selena and asked them to come over. They were here within in a few minutes.

"Hey, Sarah," Zack greeted. "What do you need help with?"

"I'm trying to find the right tune for my new song," I explained. "I tried with the piano and the guitar, but nothing worked. Now I want to try the drums and you're the only person I know who knows how to play. So will you help me?"

"Of course I will. You're my twin sister. I'd do anything for you."

"So will I," Selena said.

I smiled. "Thank you, guys. Now let's get to work."

It turns out, the drums were the instrument I needed to finish the song. We found a tune and added a little guitar to it. It sounded great.

I invited my whole family to come down and listen to it.

I tried to avoid Luke's gaze, but couldn't. After our attempt of a kiss last night, I was kind of ignoring him. He was smiling at me as if nothing happened, or that something did and he would like it to happen again soon. I'm going to have to talk to him when I'm done.

Everyone found a place to sit. Luke was sitting on the couch with Annabeth sitting on his lap. I couldn't help but smile. They were so cute.

Zack, Selena, and I were ready.

"Hey, guys," I said into the microphone. "I'm going to perform a song for you all. It's about family and staying together no matter what. I got the idea from when Luke told me about his adventures with Annabeth and Thalia being a family. I hope they like it as well as the rest of you. Now hit it."

Zack began playing the drums, and I began to play the guitar and sing:

There's a boy, lost his way, looking for someone to play  
There's a girl in the window tears rolling down her face  
We're only lost children, trying to find a friend  
Trying to find our way back home

We don't know where to go, so I'll just get lost with you  
We'll never fall apart, 'cause we fit together right, we fit together right  
These dark clouds over me, rain down and roll away  
We'll never fall apart, 'cause we fit together like  
Two pieces of a broken heart

I know where we could go and never feel let down again  
We could build sandcastles, I'll be the queen, you'll be my king  
We're only lost children, trying to find a friend  
Trying to find our way back home

We don't know where to go, so I'll just get lost with you  
We'll never fall apart, 'cause we fit together right, we fit together right  
These dark clouds over me, rain down and roll away  
We'll never fall apart, 'cause we fit together like  
Two pieces of a broken heart

Now I can lay my head down and fall asleep  
Oh, but I don't have to fall asleep to see my dreams  
'Cause you're right there in front of me (right there in front of me)  
There's a boy, lost his way, looking for someone to play

We don't know where to go, so I'll just get lost with you  
We'll never fall apart, 'cause we fit together right, we fit together right  
These dark clouds over me, rain down and roll away  
We'll never fall apart, 'cause we fit together like  
We fit together like  
Two pieces of a broken heart

There's a boy, lost his way, looking for someone to play

When I finished the song, everyone clapped, including Luke and Annabeth. Shillow howled, the cheetahs and Black did, well, whatever it was they do.

After that, I pulled Luke aside into the recording room so we could talk alone.

"Hey, I really like that song you sang," he told me. "It was great."

"Thanks," I replied. "But you should take half the credit. I wouldn't have written it if you hadn't inspired me to."

He shrugged. "Yeah, but only you could've made it a song. And a great one at that."

I blushed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

My mind was telling me to kiss him, but I had to keep it under control. I wanted to, _so bad_ , but I couldn't do that. Not to Zak, and especially not to Emily

Not to Zak, and especially not to Emily.

I sighed. "God, I wonder if this is how Emily feels toward you."

Luke smiled. "Maybe. I mean, she kissed me first. And that's what you want to do, isn't it?"

I nodded. "And I know you do too."

He didn't deny it. "Would it be wrong?"

"Of course it would be wrong."

"But you're in Emily's body."

"That's no excuse. If it was, I probably would've made love to Zak yesterday. Would you have liked me using Emily's body to have sex with my boyfriend?"

"No. Not at all."

"Then there you go."

"Well, I guess, thank you for respecting her body like that."

I stared at him. "Thank you? How the fuck dare you thank me for respecting my little sister's body? You can't seem to respect that I'm her sister and not her. Let's say that I was in my body, which doesn't look different from Emily's, would you leave her for me?"

"Of course not. I love Emily. If I didn't, I never would've given her a promise ring. I think the reason I'm attracted to you is because not only are you in her body but you're also a lot like her. I mean, you are sisters, after all. I guess I just miss her. I want her back, but I don't want you to go. Mostly for Emily."

"But I will go sometime."

"I know."

He leaned in and kissed me.

I kissed him back.

It didn't feel quite as great as it did with Zak, but it felt good. After about a minute, we pulled apart, breathing a little hard.

I was smiling. We both were.

"Ok," I said. "We can do this until Emily comes back."

"Are you sure?" Luke asked.

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Well, like you said, it's wrong and I kind of feel like it is, but if you want it to be this way until you're gone, then ok."

I didn't want it to be this way. I wanted to be with Zak, but that's obviously never going to happen again. So I should keep Luke company until Emily comes back. It probably shouldn't be that kind of company, but I couldn't help it. I could see why Emily liked him so much.

"Ok," I said. "We'll do this on one condition: when Emily comes back, you tell her about this, ok?"

Luke nodded. "I will. I bet if you didn't tell me that, your mom will."

"I'm sure she will too."

Just then Annabeth came into the room.

"Can you two play with me?" she asked. "I'm bored."

"Of course, Annabeth," Luke replied. Then turned toward me. "What do you say, Sarah?"

I smiled. "Definitely."

"Yes," Annabeth cheered.

"So what do you want to—" I faltered.

Something felt wrong with me, and I stumbled. My chest was in a pain. I grabbed onto the nearest chair for support. Was I having a heart attack?

"What is it, Sarah?" Luke asked, concerned.

"I—I don't know," I replied. "I don't feel—"

Suddenly, my necklace glowed brightly, burning against my neck, and I felt a force so strong that I collapsed and became unconscious.

* * *

When I awoke, I was lying on a bed in what looked like the infirmary room on the airship. Why was I here?

I felt a sharp pain in my head and I groaned. Damn headache. That's when I realized I wasn't alone.

"Sarah?"

I couldn't believe whose voice I heard. I turned toward the other side of my bed to confirm it. When I saw him sitting right next to my bed, I was so relieved that my headache went away as if it were never there.

"Zak?" I asked in disbelief.

He smiled down at me. "You're finally awake."

It was him. He was his regular size and look. Twelve years old, not twenty-five. And the white part of his hair was still there, so he was still really cute. But he felt different.

I didn't realize it before now, but I could've usually felt the strength of his powers, but I didn't feel anything now for some reason, like he no longer had them.

I could tell that I was also back in my body.

I was so happy. "Zak."

I sat up on the bed and hugged him. He hugged me back really tight, but I didn't care. I had him back.

"I love you."

I pulled away from our hug and looked at him. "What did you just say?"

Zak smiled with no ounce of regret. "I love you, Sarah."

I smiled back. "I love you too."

We kissed to commemorate the first time we said "I love you."

* * *

 **Well, are you guys still confused? Sarah still is too. But can you guys guess what happened? It'll be explained in the next chapter, and I'll explain even more at the end of it. Also, you remember Delgado the dog? He longer exists. I started thinking about him, and I realized that he should've been someone else, so now he is, or will be when I fix it hopefully sometime later today. I'll let you know.**

 **Now here's your quiz:** _Sarah sang two songs in this chapter. What was the name of both of them, and who sings them?_

 **P** **lease review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	65. I Guess Not Everything Has Changed

**Sarah's POV**

Zak and I pulled apart from our kiss when we heard someone laughing.

There was a baby boy looking up at us from the side of the bed. He had blue eyes, dressed in blue footies, and he was smiling. He ran off and hid behind another bed in the room.

"Who is he?" I asked.

Zak shook his head. "I don't know. And how do you know that it's a he?"

"I have a baby sister, Zak. It's not that hard. Now let's go see if we can find his parents."

I got up from the bed and walked to the other side of the bed the baby boy hid behind, but he wasn't there.

"Zak, he's gone," I said.

"What?" he asked.

We searched the whole room, but didn't see any sign of him anywhere.

"Where could he hide in here that we couldn't find him?" I asked.

Zak shook his head. "I don't know."

He walked out of the room and I followed him. We found his family in the next couple rooms along with my mom and the animals.

"Sarah, you're awake," Mom said. "Finally."

"Finally?" I asked. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A whole week," Zak replied.

"A week?"

"You were in a coma," Mom said. "That music knocked you out good."

"Yeah," Zak said. "And, uh, you didn't tell me it was your birthday."

"Zak, I didn't think that it was necessary to tell you, ok?" I said.

"Ok. I don't get why, but ok. And, guys, did you see where that baby boy went?"

They all looked confused.

"What baby boy, Zak?" Drew asked.

"You didn't see him? Any of you?"

They all shook their heads.

"I think your mind is playing tricks on you, Zak," Set said. "There is no baby boy anywhere around here."

Zak looked at me.

This was total déjà vu. I remembered something that he told me in my dream. I was sure now that that's what it was. But it felt so real. I've seen on TV sometimes when people are in comas, they have dreams that are so realistic that you think they were real. I guess it was true.

"I think you were right about that girl," I told Zak.

"What girl?" he asked.

"The little girl that only you and I can see."

"Oh. What did I say about her?"

"Umm, I'll tell you later."

I did not want to tell him that in front of our families. That would be too much of an explanation.

I looked around the room and realized that someone wasn't there. "Hey, where's Van Rook?"

All of them looked really sad when I said his name.

"What?"

"Sarah, he's dead," Zak said.

I stared at him in shock. "What happened to him?"

"The nagas."

He explained to me what happened, how Rani Nagi got a hold of Drew's fire sword, was about to use it at her, but Van Rook blocked it with his own body, and since he had his jetpack on, the fire from the sword electrocuted him.

"Oh my God."

"Yeah," Zak agreed. "His funeral was yesterday."

"Wow."

I never really liked that guy, but now that he was dead, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Did anything else happen?" I asked.

"Well, I no longer have my powers," Zak said.

"You don't?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well, that explains why I didn't feel any power surging from you. And you're probably glad about that, aren't you, Set?"

He couldn't contain his smile. "Maybe."

"But if your powers are gone, what happened to Argost?"

Zak shrugged. "Don't know. None of us do. After you passed out, I told him how matter and anti-matter don't go well together since he had Set's powers. I guess something bad happened because I passed out right after I told him that and the world wasn't being threatened by a cryptid army when I woke up."

"Well, that's good, and at least you didn't die."

"Well, I kind of did."

"What do you mean?"

"When I woke up, Doyle told me that they lost me for about three minutes. My parents and your mom were able to bring me back."

"Oh, well, that's good. Did anything like that happen to me?"

"Uh, I don't think so." Zak looked at our family.

"No, Zak," Mom said. "She was just unconscious the whole time. But, surprisingly, still has her powers."

"Yeah, she does."

Mom's expression told me otherwise, even though she sounded confident with her answer. She's just that good. But I could tell that something did happen to me, she just didn't want Zak to know. I'll have to talk to her about that later.

"Ok, well, where's Zack, my brother?" I asked.

"At home," Mom replied. "I was actually thinking that we all could go there and celebrate."

"Celebrate what?"

"Well, that we won the war and that we all, or most of us, survived. And we haven't even celebrated yours and Zack's birthday yet. So what do you say?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Is Dad going to be there?"

"Yes. He's off work for the week."

I sighed. "Well, that's convenient."

"He's already met the Saturday's, Sarah."

"He has?"

Mom nodded. "Yes. Did you really think he wasn't going to come see you?"

"Yeah, he would," I said. Then I looked consciously at Zak. "How'd it go with him?"

"Good," Mom said. "He seemed to accept Zak as your boyfriend and he could see how much he cares about you."

I sighed in relief. "That's good. But did he stop—"

"No."

"Well, then I don't think it's that good."

"No. But is it good enough to go home and celebrate along with him?"

"I guess so."

"I'll go set the coordinates," Doc said and left the room.

I had a feeling that this was not going to be much of a celebration.

* * *

We arrived in our city and Doc and Drew landed the airship in the open field behind the woods that was behind our house. It kept it hidden from most of the people in the town.

We exited out of the airship.

"I don't think I've ever been this far out here before," I said.

"Yeah," Mom said. "It's a good place to do some kind of training since you're kind of surrounded by nature."

"Ok. Have you been out here before?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Nick and I trained Shillow and Amber out here when they were pups and the cubs too."

"You've lived here that long?"

"Yeah. When I was a kid, I moved around a lot and it was a pain in the ass, especially the last time. So I promised myself that the very first house I live in I'm going to live in for the rest of my life."

"Ok. So which way do we—"

"Sarah," Zak said.

"What?" I asked.

He pointed across the clearing. At the edge of the woods, the little girl that only we could see was gesturing toward us.

"She wants us to follow her," I said.

"Who does?" Set asked.

"Our daughter."

Everyone stared at me, even Zak. "What?"

"I'll explain later. But, Mom, is that the way we should go?"

"Uh, yeah," she replied.

"Then let's go already."

I grabbed Zak's hand and pulled him along. Everyone else followed.

The little girl ran into the woods, no doubt disappearing again. We walked straight through it. The animals led us through it and we reached our backyard within a few minutes. Zack and Selena were jumping on the trampoline.

"Hey, guys!" I called to them.

They stopped jumping. "Sarah!"

They got off the trampoline and ran to us, both of them giving me a hug.

"Ok, guys," I said. "Enough with the hugs already."

"We're just really glad to see you," Selena said.

"I know, but you don't have to be _that_ glad."

"Hey, you were with me," Zack said.

"That was for a completely different, somewhat more serious situation."

"Yeah, but what's so wrong with being very glad to see you after a not-so-serious situation?"

"Well—"

"Guys," my dad called from the deck. "How about we continue the conversation inside, shall we?"

We did. Once we reached him, he gave Mom a kiss and me a hug. Then we all went into the living room and sat around.

"So how do you feel, Sarah?" Dad asked.

"Alive," I replied.

Everyone laughed.

"Sarah!" Emily called in her little baby voice.

I was so glad to hear and see her. That dream was really crazy. She was running down the hall on her little feet right toward me. Komodo was just a few feet from me, and when she reached him, she screamed.

"Emily, it's ok," I reassured her and went to her. "He's really friendly. Come here, Komodo."

He did.

I brought Emily close. I had her touch his head and she seemed to relax a little bit. I picked her up and looked at her, and I remembered my dream for a moment.

"You're going to have a great boyfriend someday," I told her.

Unfortunately, everyone else also heard it.

"What?" Dad asked.

I blushed. "Nothing, Dad."

I sat back down next to Zak.

"You mentioned seeing your daughter," Set said. "What did you mean by that?"

Everyone looked at me.

I sighed. "It's not what you think. Last year me and Zak have been seeing this little girl every once in a while, but only me and him could see her and only when we're in the same room together. When I was in my coma, I had a dream. Me and Zak were talking and he told me that he thinks that that little girl is our future daughter, because she looks a lot like me and I think he's right."

Everyone considered that for a moment.

"It makes sense, I guess," Zak said. "But why are we seeing her?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. But I also think that that little boy we saw earlier after I woke up is our future son."

"Well, he did have your eyes."

I smiled. "Yeah."

"Oh!" Mom explained.

"What is it, Mom?" I asked.

"I think you're right, Sarah. They maybe yours and Zak's future children."

"How are you so sure of that?"

"When I was a kid, I once watched this show called Celebrity Ghost Stories, and this particular episode was about this actress seeing a vision of her future daughters when she was in the hospital at about eight years old or so. I thought it was really cool. And now I think you and Zak yourselves are experiencing the same thing."

"Ok," I said. "But why are we seeing them?"

"Perhaps it's because you two are meant to be together forever."

Zak and I looked at each other. We smiled and held hands.

"I hope so," I said.

"I know so," Zak agreed.

I think my necklace agreed with him as well, because the diamond began glowing.

"Ok," I said.

"Your diamond glows?" Selena asked.

"Uh, yeah. I don't know why though. It hasn't glowed since we were in Prague when that ceremony was done on Zak and that force field was around him. I wasn't able to break through it at first, but then my necklace glowed, giving off a strong burst of energy that I was able to break through it."

"Nothing can beat the power of love," Mom said.

"What?" I asked.

"Zak gave you that necklace, right?"

I nodded.

"Well, there's this Immortal thing, when someone you deeply love and really care about gives you something with a diamond on it, it glows, proving to that person, and sometimes even to yourself, that you love him."

I looked at Zak and blushed. "Yeah."

Then we heard a small laugh. Zak and I looked across the room and saw the little girl.

I stood up and walked to her. "Hi. Is it true? Are you really mine and Zak's daughter?"

She smiled and nodded.

"And that baby boy we saw, he's your brother and our son?"

She nodded.

"Ok. Honestly, I'm surprised we didn't realize that before. I mean, you have an S on your shirt just like Zak does, and I assume that it stands for Saturday?"

She nodded again.

"But you don't know your first name?"

She shook her head.

"It's probably because she doesn't exist yet," Zak said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "And you also don't know why we're seeing you at all?"

The little girl shook her head.

"Well, that's ok."

She waved a goodbye to me and Zak. We waved back. She went down the stairs and disappeared once again.

"You know, seeing you two talk to someone who isn't there makes you look like you're crazy," Doyle said.

"Ok, shut up," I said.

"I wish I could see her," Mom said.

"You will someday."

"But not anytime soon, right?" Dad asked.

"No! Oh my God, Dad. You're seriously asking that? I'm not even ready to."

"You've should've seen that coming, Sarah," Mom said.

"I know."

"And you did not need to say that last part. But let's get on to a different subject now, like celebrating yours and Zack's birthday and Selena's."

"Oh. That's right, you were born a couple days after we were."

"Yes, I was," Selena said.

"Yes, and how do you three want to celebrate?" Mom asked.

Zack and I made eye-contact, and we had a silent agreement. "Bowling."

"Ok," Mom said. "Do you like that, Selena?"

"Sure," she replied. "Gives me a chance to beat you guys."

"Oh, you wish," Zack and I said.

"Do you guys want to go now?" Mom asked.

"Sure."

"Wait," I said. "I need to talk to Zack first, my brother."

"Ok," he said. "About what?"

"Let's go talk outside. Zak, Selena, and Set, you guys can come with us if you'd like."

"Ok," they replied.

"We'll be back in a while."

And at that, the five of us went outside. We went to the park and walked down by the river.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Zack asked.

I told them about my dream, leaving a few details out, like Zak and I kissing and it almost going further than that, the talk about when Zak and I kissed, and when Luke and I kissed. So, basically, all the kissing parts. Oh, and also the part about Zak having a sister and Zack and Selena having a son at sixteen. I wanted to keep those a secret just in case they might come true someday.

"Wait," Zack said. "You had a dream about thirteen years into the future where Mom adopts two kids named Luke and Annabeth?"

I nodded. "Yes. I think it was showing our future, but I'm not sure. I mean, I didn't die, obviously."

"Which we're glad for," Zak said.

"And you think this Luke guy will become Emily's boyfriend someday?" Zack asked.

"Maybe," I said.

"Are you going to tell Mom about that?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I mean, if I do, she'll probably find out that Nick's alive. Someday. And based on how it went in my dream, it's probably going to be that way in reality."

"Possibly so. But when?"

I shook my head. "I don't know exactly. But not for at least a couple years."

I went near the river bank and skipped some rocks across it. Zak joined me.

"Sarah!"

I sighed.

I turned around and saw Jessica and Demi running toward me. The boys, Jason, Mark, and Michael were right behind them.

"Hi, guys," I greeted.

"Oh, Sarah, we heard about your terrible coma," Jessica said. "But now you're finally awake, and I see you brought your boyfriend home with you."

"Yes, I did."

I introduced Zak and Set to my friends. The boys greeted each other with hand shakes.

"So, what's up?" Mark asked.

"Well, we're about to go bowling as a kind of celebration for our birthday," Zack told him.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Do you guys want to come?"

"Sure," they replied.

"Ok. Well, let's go see if you can."

"I'm pretty sure Mom will say yes," Zack said.

"I'm sure she will too."

* * *

We went home to find my parents. They were giving the Saturdays a tour of the house. We found them in the arena.

"Hey, Mom?" I said. "Can our friends come bowling with us?"

"Of course they can come," she replied. "Do you guys want to go now?"

We nodded. "Yeah."

"Alright then. I'm just going to teleport us there since there's _so_ many of us here."

She activated her powers and off we went.

* * *

My friends and I got two lanes and shoes. Me, Zack, and Selena already had our own balls and shoes. Our families were just going to watch us bowl. After I had my shoes on and my ball on the rack, I went to get Zak and Set a bowling ball. Zak went with me.

"I'm going to give you and Set a ten-pound ball," I told him.

"Ok," he replied. "And we're suppose to throw it at those pins?"

"Yes. And since you asked that, I'm guessing you've never done this before?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well, it's not that hard. You and Set will learn quickly."

"If you say so."

Then I turned toward my friends. "Ok. Do you guys want to play Battle of the Sexes?"

"Ok," I said. "Do you guys want to play Battle of the Sexes?"

"Yeah," everyone except Zak replied.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Boys versus girls," I clarified.

"Oh. Can I say that I don't want to go against you?"

"Of course you can."

"I disagree," Set said.

"Well, there's four of us girls and six of you guys," Selena said. "It's uneven."

"That's not fair you guys," Mom said. "Or girls."

"Zak can be on our team," I said. "Especially since he just said that he doesn't want to go against me. Right, Zak?"

He nodded. "Right."

"Fine by me," Zack said. "Now can we get started already? I want to get done with beating _you_."

"Oh, it's on," I said.

I put in all our names, putting me second to last since Zak insisted on going last, and we all started bowling. Our family just watched us, and Mom wrote down all of our final scores and added them together to see who won.

Zak wasn't bad, and neither was Set. I told and showed them what to do, and they did it. They managed to get good high scores for their first time bowling. There was one time, though, where Zak used his claw to throw his ball and not letting go of it until it reached the pins. He ultimately got a strike, but I was very mad at him for doing that, so was my mom.

We played five games, which took about five hours. Us girls, plus Zak, won two games, the boys won three. After that, we went home and so did our friends, but Selena slept over. Zak stayed with me in my room while his family took the guest rooms downstairs. Then the next morning, we all had breakfast together, including the animals, in our large kitchen. Pancakes, French toast, bacon, waffles, scrambled eggs, and sausage.

Yeah, I won't be surprised if we all gained a few pounds by the end of the day. Well, us that aren't Immortals, because we can't be overweight no matter how much fat we eat. The only time we do is when we're pregnant, which was completely understandable.

"Uh, Sarah," Mom said. "You know you have a concert in a couple weeks, right?"

"Yes, I do, Mom," I replied. "And I'm preparing for it."

"What concert?" Zak asked.

My family looked confused and stared at me.

"You still haven't told him yet?" Zack asked.

I blushed. "No."

"Tell me what?" Zak asked.

I explained to him all about my record deal, my first album, and so on.

"Now you tell me?" he asked when I was finished.

I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Zak. It just didn't feel right telling you before, though I don't know why. But I have you to thank for helping me get my dream."

"You deserve it." He gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I'm proud of you for conquering your stage fright."

I smiled. "Thank you. And, uh, not to sound rude our anything, but I have a lot of songs that I need to work on for the concert and I don't want you here while I'm working on them."

"Why not?"

"Because I want you to wait until the concert."

"And probably because they're all love songs," Zack said.

"Not _all_ of them, but, mainly, yes. You are all invited to the concert, but I don't want you guys to hear the songs until then. And since I only have two weeks to work on them, I need to start right after breakfast. So, uh, can you guys, maybe, go home while I work on them? Mom, you repaired their house, right?"

"Yes, I did," she replied. "They already know that."

"Oh, well, thank you for doing that for me." I turned to Zak. "I'll come see you at least once a day, or two, but not for long, ok?"

He sighed. "Fine. But after the concert's over, we can spend more time together, right?"

"Of course."

He kissed me. "Ok. Then we should probably go now. Ok, Mom and Dad?"

"You're right," Drew said. "We should get our lives back together now that you're no longer Kur."

"And the Secret Scientists have stopped pursuing you now," Doc added.

"They better have," I said.

We said goodbye to the Saturdays for now and they went home to restart their lives. And Zak gave me one last kiss. After they left, I went downstairs to the music room and got to work on my new songs.

* * *

 **Alright. Well, that's what happened in the last few chapters with Sarah. She was in a coma and had a crazy dream. I've seen that on TV sometimes, though I'm not sure if that actually happens to people in comas. When I first came up with this, I originally was going to have her have three alternate universe dreams, one where Zak was still Kur and ruling the world with his family dead that I got from another fanfiction; another where Sarah died, though I don't think it was like how the last chapters were; and the last where Zak died and Sarah trying to fight to get him back, and ultimately failing, then waking up. But then I came up this idea, and I liked it a lot better. It gives you guys some incite into the sequel for this story. And do you remember what I said about Delgado? He officially no longer exists. At least as a dog. I changed him to a black dragon about the size of Luke, and renamed him Black.**

 **Now about that little girl: She is Sarah and Zak's future daughter, and that baby boy at the beginning of this chapter is their future son. I got the idea for this from Celebrity Ghost Stories about an actress who saw her future daughters while she was in the hospital at about eight years old. I don't remember who the actress was, or if it was explained how she saw them, so we'll just leave that as a mystery here. But can you guys guess what their names are going to be?**

 **Now that all of the episode chapters are done, and these chapters of Sarah in her coma, all of the rest of the chapters from this point on are going to be pretty short, maybe only a few pages. And if any of you are wondering if I'm going to write a chapter about that crossover episode of The Secret Saturdays and Ben 10, T.G.I.S., I'm not. I really didn't like that episode, and I have other, better plans for them at that time. Hopefully you'll like it.**

 **The answers to my last quiz was:** _Everything Has Changed, by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran; and Two Pieces, by Demi Lovato **.**_ **Nagisa101 guessed the first one right. Good job.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	66. I Tell my Mom my Dream

**Sarah's POV**

It's been a week and I've finished and recorded half of my songs. Now I only have a week left to do the other half.

I was taking a short break and went to get a little snack.

Then my mom came into the room. "Hey, Sarah. What's up?"

"Just getting a snack," I replied.

"What snack?"

"Umm . . ." I grabbed a bag of cookies from the covert. "Oatmeal creme pie."

"Oooo, can I have one?"

I smiled. "Uh, you bought them, so yeah."

I tossed her one and she caught it. "Thank you."

She really loves oatmeal creme pie. They're quite delicious.

We sat down on the island in the kitchen and ate our cookies.

"Uh, Mom?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"There's something that I should probably tell you."

"Sarah, I may be your mom, but you don't necessarily have to tell me anything if you don't want to, unless it's something illegal, then, yeah, you have to tell me. But I'll probably figure it out before you do tell me. Anyway, what?"

"It's about when I was in my coma. You know how on TV, people have a kind of dream that seems realistic when they're in a coma?"

Mom nodded. "Yeah. Did you have one?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

I told her about it, leaving out the obvious stuff, like Nick for instance. She didn't interrupt once, but her expression told me she wanted to so that we could discuss it. When I was finished, she could barely hold her little excitement.

"That sounds kind of cool," she said. "It may have been a dream, but do you think that I'll adopt Luke and Annabeth someday?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe. Do you think Luke will be a good boyfriend to Emily someday if he does exist?"

"Well, you sounded like you think so, and based on what you told me, possibly."

"It's weird to know who your baby sister might date someday in her future."

"I know."

"What?" Dad asked, entering the room unexpectedly.

"Nothing!" Mom and I both said in unison.

"It didn't sound like nothing. What were you saying about who your baby sister might date someday? Who is he?"

"No one you need to worry about, Cj," Mom said.

He still seemed suspicious about it, but didn't bother to ask anymore. He opened the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of beer, closed it, and left the room.

I sighed. "Unfortunately, he didn't stop _that_."

"Have you written that song?" Mom asked.

"The songs that I wrote in my dream? Yeah. But I'm not going to put them on this album, except maybe one. I'll wait until my next one."

"No, not those. First of all, I said song, not songs, and second of all, the song that you said that you were going to try to write to stop your dad from drinking again."

"Oh, that one. Umm . . . I'm working on it. I have a chorus. And the verses? Well, I didn't have a single idea what to write. But after that conversation I had with Annabeth in my dream, I want to finish the song for her and her dad, not for my dad. Is that wrong?"

Mom shook her head. "No. And maybe, if Annabeth does exist someday, you can use that to help her with her father."

"Yeah."

"You better go work on it."

"I am. See you later."

I left the room and headed back down to the music room. Along the way, I ran into Zack. Not literally, but almost.

"Oh, Sarah," he said.

"Sorry," I said.

"It's ok. How's your music coming along?"

"Uh, you should know the answer to that since you play the drums in almost all of the songs that I've finished and you come check on my progress twice an hour."

"Oh, right."

We both were hesitating. We knew that we needed to talk to each other about something we've been avoiding since it happened, but were too afraid. Probably because of how it will effect us and our loved ones.

"Well, umm . . . I've got a song to work on," I said.

Zack nodding in understanding. "Yeah, ok. I'll see you later."

"Ok."

He walked past me and up the stairs.

I remembered the conversation I had with him in my dream and that made me stop him. "Zack."

He stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to face me.

"We need to talk about that. We can't avoid it forever."

He came back down the stairs. "I agree. But in private."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into one of the guest bedrooms, closing the door behind him.

"Ok, Zack, umm, about that day," I started. "I guess I was too glad—"

"Can we wait to talk about it for a sec?" he interrupted.

"Ok. But why do you want to wait?"

In response to my question, Zack pushed me up against the door slowly and gently and kissed me. I gave in and kissed him back.

My necklace felt heavy around my neck and that gave me the strength to pull away.

"Zack, stop," I said. "We can't keep doing this."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Why not? Zack, were brother and sister! Twin brother and sister. And what about everyone else? I love Zak. I don't want to hurt him. Don't you feel the same way about Selena?"

He sighed and hit his head against the door with a hurt look on his face. "Yes. I'm an asshole."

"No, you're not. Well . . . maybe a little bit. But so am I. I don't understand how this happened between us exactly, but we need to fight it for both ours and Zak and Selena's sake."

"You're right. You always are. Well . . . not always, but most of the time you are."

I smiled. "Umm, I guess, truce?"

Zack nodded. "Truce."

We shook hands.

"Well, I better go finish the rest of my songs," I said.

"Ok," Zack said. "Let me know if you need me for drums."

"I probably will eventually." I gave him a hug. "See you later."

"See ya."

We left the room and went our separate ways.

* * *

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	67. Life is a Song

**Sarah's POV.**

I love to wear dresses.

My family and I were backstage, and I will preforming in about an hour. I will be singing twenty songs tonight (I was able to finish them all on time), and with every song, I will be wearing a different dress. The first one that I will be wearing to open with is a yellow dress that has an attached yellow silk shrug and the rest of it is covered in sparkles.

Yeah, as I've probably mentioned before, I get that from my mom, who wore dresses like that herself when she was my age. She's actually wearing a dress tonight, a purple one that has a little V-neck.

Oh, did I mention that I was going to wear matching shoes with my dresses? Well, I am. Short heeled shoes, to be exact. And thanks to my powers, I can also make them feel comfortable on my feet.

I'm not a fashionist. I like to wear casual clothing half the time, but I really love to wear dresses on special occasions. And I'd say that performing all night at a sold-out concert is a special occasion.

Now, enough of that.

I was standing in front of a big mirror with my friends, Selena, Jessica, and Demi, who were also wearing dresses that were the same style but different color as mine, and we were doing vocal exercises and practicing.

They'll be back up singing and playing some instruments most of the time, but there will be a song or two where Selena and Demi will be singing with me as a group.

"Sarah," Zack called. "The Saturdays are here."

"Finally," I said.

They came and met us back stage.

They all were dressed up in black, like it was a funeral or something. Even Fiskerton and Komodo were wearing bowties. I tried not to be offended by that, since I knew how much they like to wear black or orange for some odd reason.

"Hey, guys," I greeted. "And Zak." I gave him a kiss.

"Hey," he greeted back. "You look beautiful."

I blushed. "Thank you. Let's hope that I can make it through this whole night without crying."

"Out of joy?"

I shook my head. "No. Umm . . ." I looked around to see if my dad was anywhere to be seen. He wasn't. "I wrote a song for my dad to get him to stop drinking, but it's sad."

"Possibly a little too sad," Mom agreed.

"Maybe. And every time I sing it, when I get to the third verse, I just start crying, and I hate crying."

"I'm pretty sure we all will by crying during that song, Sarah. I sure will be."

"Yeah, and hopefully it will effect my dad too."

"I know it will," Zak said.

I smiled. "Thanks."

He gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I looked at the clock and noticed that it was fifteen minutes until seven. Time really passes by fast, doesn't it?

"The concert will start soon," I said. "You guys better go get in your seats. You're in the third row from the stage."

"Why aren't we in the first row?" Doyle asked.

"Because I didn't want you in the first row. Now go."

Zak gave me one last good luck kiss and he and his family went off.

When there were two minutes left, I drank some throat coat, which tasted horrible if you were wondering, and we all got into position. I put on my ear piece microphone and walked out on stage.

There was a platform at the back of the stage that had a few stairs leading down to it. Once everyone in the crowd saw me, they cheered.

"How's everyone doing tonight?" I called out.

They all screamed.

"I can't hear you."

They sounded louder, but not enough for me.

"I still can't hear you."

They were screaming too loud now.

"Ok, ok, ok. Don't strain your voices. It's bad enough that I'll probably be straining my own."

There were a few chuckles in the crowd, one coming from Set.

"Ok," I said. "Well, tonight I will be singing never before heard songs and they will all be on an album that you can get at the end of the concert. I hope you all enjoy them."

I sat down on the second to last stair.

The music began and I started singing:

 **[Sarah]**  
Ohh ohh  
Last years old news  
I'm breaking out my six string  
And playing from my heart  
It's not déjà vu  
Cause it's another summer  
That's how this chapter starts

I'm gonna run so fast 'til I can't breathe  
Come along and follow me  
Let's make some noise we never did before

It's a brand new day  
Don't you see me  
Changing on my way  
So completely  
This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it  
This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit  
It's a brand new day  
And I'm feelin' good  
And I'm feelin' good

So drama free  
I'm all about the music  
I just wanna sing  
Watch me live out my dreams  
I'm gonna rock that stage and give my everything

I'm gonna dance until my feet can't move  
Come along get in the groove  
Let's shine so bright more than we did before

It's a brand new day  
Don't you see me  
Changing on my way  
So completely  
This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it

This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit  
It's a brand new day  
And I'm feelin' good!

 **[Backup singers]**  
What you gonna do? What you gonna do?

 **[Sarah]**  
I'm gonna laugh through the summer with you

 **[Backup singers]**  
Who you gonna be? Who you gonna be?

 **[Sarah]**  
You'll just have to watch me carefully

 **[Backup singers]**  
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?

 **[Sarah]**  
Anywhere my heart wants me to go  
I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna dance  
I'm gonna ride, I'm gonna play  
I'm gonna try my game in everything

Cause It's a brand new day  
Don't you see me  
Changing on my way  
So completely  
This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it  
This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit  
It's a brand new day

It's a brand new day  
It's a brand new day, yeah  
Changing on my way  
(Changing on my way)  
This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it (gonna hear it)  
This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit (got the spirit)  
It's a brand new day  
(It's a brand new day)  
It's a brand new day  
And I'm feelin' good  
Feelin' good  
And I'm feelin' good

* * *

One song down, about nineteen more to go. I went behind the curtain for a few seconds to change my dress, then I went back on stage and continued singing:

 **[Selena]**  
Now when the world is shadowed and dark

 **[Demi]**  
Now when the sky is empty of stars

 **[Sarah]  
** Now when the world is wrapped in sleep

 **[All]**  
In a quiet endless and deep

 **[Sarah]**  
In the silence of the night

 **[All]**  
Far off in the distance  
A fire comes to life  
A flicker of a flame breaks through the dark  
Burning soft and bright  
Dancing with the light  
Awakening the Heavens and the Earth

Far across the ocean  
A flame is rising high  
Breaking through the shadows and the dark  
Shining in the night  
Rising with the light  
Here to wake the Heavens and the Earth

 **[Demi]  
** Now as the light starts to rise

 **[Sarah]**  
Now as the day opens wide

 **[Selena]**  
Now as the dreams slips away  
You wake to the day

 **[All]**  
You wake to the light

Here as your dream falls away  
Feel as the dark turns to day

 **[Selena]**  
Leave the shadows behind

 **[Sarah]**  
And the dream called in blind

 **[All]**  
Turn into the light

Far off in the distance  
A fire comes to life  
A flicker of a flame breaks through the dark  
Burning soft and bright  
Dancing with the light  
Awakening the Heavens and the Earth

Far across the ocean  
A flame is rising high  
Breaking through the shadows and the dark  
Shining in the night  
Rising with the light  
Here to wake the Heavens and the Earth

Far off in the distance  
A fire comes to life  
A flicker of a flame breaks through the dark  
Burning soft and bright  
Dancing with the light  
Awakening the Heavens and the Earth

Far across the ocean  
A flame is rising high  
Breaking through the shadows and the dark  
Shining in the night  
Rising with the light  
Here to wake the Heavens and the Earth

Here to wake the Heavens and the Earth  
To light

* * *

Next song.

 **[Selena]**  
It's calling through the dark  
It's reeling in the heart  
The sound of the pipes on the wind  
The strains of the song  
Carry me along  
Sending me dancing again

 **[Demi]**  
From above and below  
A sound soft and low  
And the music's flowing through me like before

 **[Sarah]**  
And the song that we once knew  
Brings me back to you  
Pipes play within me once more

 **[All]**  
Your songs are in my heart  
They light the dark  
So come give me your hand  
Now and we'll dance tonight  
In the blazing light  
And the years will fade away

 **[Sarah]**  
Fade as you play  
Play through the dark

 **[All]**  
Play my heart

 **[Sarah]**  
I'm spinning with the sound  
There a drumming in the ground  
And the humming of a song beneath my skin

 **[Selena]**  
And the world falls away  
As I hear the pipes play

 **[All]**  
Sounding the song from within  
From within

Your songs are in my heart  
They light the dark  
So come give me your hand  
Now and we'll dance tonight  
In the blazing light  
And the years will fade away

 **[Selena]**  
Fade as you play  
Play through the dark

 **[All]**  
Play in my heart

 **[Sarah]**  
There's a drumming in the ground  
And the humming of a sound  
That we once knew

 **[All]**  
Come sing through the night  
Come fill me with your light  
Play a song sounding out through the years  
Play it steady and strong  
Fill me with song  
Sending me dancing  
Dance as the pipes play the way to my heart

Come give me your hand tonight  
Your star is bright  
Your songs are in my heart!

* * *

Next.

 **[Sarah]**  
I can feel you comin' from a mile away  
My pulse stops racing from the words that you say  
And you say so many of them like you don't have a clue  
That I'm signed, sealed delivered with a stamp on

You don't have to try too hard  
You already have my heart  
You don't got a thing to prove  
I'm already into you  
So

Hold, hold, hold, hold me tight now  
Cause I'm so, so good to go  
Don't say don't say good night you know  
You had me at hello, you had me at hello, you had me at hello  
Don't say don't say good night you know  
You had me at hello

Close your mouth now baby don't say a word  
'Cause you ain't saying nothing  
I ain't already heard  
Plus all them words get buried when the beats so loud  
And the speakers blowin' up to this dance song

You don't have to try too hard  
You already have my heart  
You don't got a thing to prove  
I'm already into you  
So

Hold, hold, hold, hold me tight now  
Cause I'm so, so good to go  
Don't say don't say good night you know  
You had me at hello, you had me at hello, you had me at hello  
Don't say don't say good night you know  
You had me at hello

Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh

You don't have to try too hard  
You already have my heart  
You don't got a thing to prove  
I'm already into you  
So

Hold, hold, hold, hold me tight now  
I'm so, so good to go  
Don't say don't say good night you know  
You had me at hello, you had me at hello, you had me at hello  
Don't say don't say good night you know  
You had me at hello

* * *

And next.

 **[Sarah]**  
Puttin' my defenses up  
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love  
If I ever did that  
I think I'd have a heart attack

Never put my love out on the line  
Never said "Yes" to the right guy  
Never had trouble getting what I want  
But when it comes to you, I'm never good enough

When I don't care  
I can play 'em like a Ken doll  
Won't wash my hair  
Then make 'em bounce like a basketball

But you make me wanna act like a girl  
Paint my nails and wear high heels  
Yes, you make me so nervous  
That I just can't hold your hand

You make me glow,  
But I cover up  
Won't let it show,  
So I'm . . .

Puttin' my defenses up  
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love  
If I ever did that  
I think I'd have a heart attack _[3x]_

Never break a sweat for the other guys  
When you come around, I get paralyzed  
And every time I try to be myself  
It comes out wrong like a cry for help

It's just not fair  
Pain's more trouble than love is worth  
I gasp for air  
It feels so good, but you know it hurts

But you make me wanna act like a girl  
Paint my nails and wear perfume for you  
Make me so nervous  
That I just can't hold your hand

You make me glow,  
But I cover up  
Won't let it show,  
So I'm . . .

Puttin' my defenses up  
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love  
If I ever did that  
I think I'd have a heart attack _[3x]_

The feelings got lost in my lungs  
They're burning, I'd rather be numb  
And there's no one else to blame (no one else)  
So scared I take off and I run  
I'm flying too close to the sun  
And I burst into flames

You make me glow,  
But I cover up  
Won't let it show,  
So I'm . . .

Puttin' my defenses up  
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love  
If I ever did that  
I think I'd have a heart attack _[5x]_

* * *

You pretty much get it now.

 **[Sarah]**  
All of your life you've been waiting  
Keeping your feet on the ground  
So much that you've never seen  
has just been a dream until now

Everyone knows its your moment  
the magic you need is inside  
so go out and fallow your heart  
make all your dreams come to life

Take to the sky and fly through the heavens  
open your eyes and soar above the blue  
take a breath and believe you can do anything  
time to spread your wings and take to the sky

Somewhere on a horse for adventure  
Somewhere beyond the blue moon  
go and discover the treasure  
where you land is up to you

Take to the sky and fly through the heavens  
open your eyes and soar above the blue  
take a breath and believe you can do anything  
time to spread your wings and take to the sky

Find yourself rapped up in rainbows  
dancin' with fireflies  
might just be paradise

Take to the sky and fly through the heavens  
open your eyes and soar above the blue  
take a breath and believe you can do anything  
time to spread your wings and take to the sky

* * *

 **[Sarah]**  
Ooh ooh ooh  
Ooh ooh ooh

Can you feel me  
When I think about you?  
With every breath I take  
Every minute  
No matter what I do

My world is an empty place  
Like I've been wandering the desert  
For a thousand days  
Don't know if it's a mirage  
But I always see your face, baby

I'm missing you so much  
Can't help it, I'm in love  
A day without you is like a year without rain  
I need you by my side  
Don't know how I'll survive  
A day without you is like a year without rain, oh, whoa  
Whoa, oh, whoa

The stars are burning  
I hear your voice in my mind  
Can't you hear me calling?  
My heart is yearning  
Like the ocean that's running dry  
Catch me, I'm falling

It's like the ground is crumbling underneath my feet  
Won't you save me?  
There's gonna be a monsoon when you get back to me, oh, baby

I'm missing you so much  
Can't help it, I'm in love  
A day without you is like a year without rain  
I need you by my side  
Don't know how I'll survive  
A day without you is like a year without rain, oh, whoa  
Whoa, oh, whoa

So let this drought come to an end  
And make this desert flower again  
I'm so glad you found me  
Stick around me,  
Baby baby baby oooh

It's a world of wonder with you in my life  
So hurry, baby, don't waste no more time  
I need you here, I can't explain  
But a day without you is like a year without rain, oh

I'm missing you so much  
Can't help it, I'm in love  
A day without you is like a year without rain  
I need you by my side  
Don't know how I'll survive  
A day without you is like a year without rain, oh, whoa  
Whoa, oh, whoa

Ooh ooh ooh  
Ooh ooh ooh

* * *

 **[Sarah]**  
It's the boy you never told 'I like you'  
It's the girl you let get away  
It's the one you saw that day on the train  
But you freaked out and walked away

It's the plane you wanna catch to Vegas  
Things you swear you'd do before you die  
It's the city of love that waits for you  
But you're too damn scared to fly

Hit the lights  
Let the music move you  
Lose yourself tonight  
Come alive  
Let the moment take you  
Lose control tonight

Hit the lights  
Let the music move you  
Lose yourself tonight  
Come alive  
Let the moment take you  
Lose control tonight

It's the time that you totally screwed up  
Still you're tryin' to get it out your brain  
It's the fight you had when you didn't make up  
It's the past that you're dying to change

It's all the money that you're saving  
While the good life passes by  
It's all the dreams that never came true  
'Cause you're too damn scared to try.

Hit the lights  
Let the music move you  
Lose yourself tonight  
Come alive  
Let the moment take you  
Lose control tonight

It's a mad, mad world  
Gotta make an escape  
It's a perfect world  
When you go all the way  
Hit the lights  
Let the music move you  
Lose yourself tonight

So let's go go, go, go all the way  
Yeah let's go go, go, go night and day  
From the floor to the rafters  
People raise your glasses  
We could dance forever

Hit the lights  
Let the music move you  
Lose yourself tonight  
Come alive  
Let the moment take you  
Lose control tonight

It's a mad, mad world  
Gonna make an escape  
It's a perfect world  
When you go all the way  
Hit the lights  
Let the music move you  
Lose yourself tonight

* * *

 **[Sarah]**  
Uh, oh, oh  
Uh, oh, oh

You were in college working part time waiting tables  
Left a small town, never looked back  
I was a flight risk with a fear of fallin'  
Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts

I say, "Can you believe it?"  
As we're lying on the couch  
The moment I can see it.  
Yes, yes, I can see it now.

Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time.  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter.  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

Flash forward and we're taking on the world together,  
And there's a drawer of my things at your place.  
You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded,  
You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes.

But we got bills to pay,  
We got nothing figured out,  
When it was hard to take,  
Yes, yes, this is what I thought about.

Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?  
You put your arm around me for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?  
You saw me start to believe for the first time  
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

Oh, oh, oh, oh

And I remember that fight  
Two-thirty AM  
As everything was slipping right out of our hands  
I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street  
Braced myself for the "Goodbye."  
'Cause that's all I've ever known  
Then you took me by surprise  
You said, "I'll never leave you alone."

You said, "I remember how we felt sitting by the water.  
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time.  
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter.  
She is the best thing that's ever been mine."

Hold on, make it last  
Hold on, never turn back

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter  
You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

(Hold on) do you believe it?  
(Hold on) we're gonna make it now.  
(Hold on) and I can see it,  
(Yes, yes) I can see it now (see it now, see it now . . .)

* * *

 **[Sarah]  
** There's somethin' 'bout the way  
The street looks when it's just rained  
There's a glow off the pavement  
You walk me to the car  
And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there  
In the middle of the parking lot  
Yeah  
Oh yeah

We're drivin' down the road  
I wonder if you know  
I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now  
But you're just so cool  
Run your hands through your hair  
Absent-mindedly makin' me want you

And I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress  
Fearless

So, baby, drive slow  
'Til we run out of road in this one horse town  
I wanna stay right here in this passenger's seat  
You put your eyes on me  
In this moment now capture it, remember it

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress  
Fearless

Well, you stood there with me in the doorway  
My hands shake  
I'm not usually this way  
But you pull me in and I'm a little more brave  
It's the first kiss,  
It's flawless,  
It's really something,  
It's fearless.

Oh yeah

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress  
Fearless

'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me head first  
Fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress  
Fearless

Oh-oh  
Oh yeah

* * *

 **Well, that's a lot of songs. Can any of you guess what the titles are and who sings them? Here's a hint: some of them are sung by the same singer(s). And can any of you guys guess what song Sarah's going to sing for her dad?**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	68. Sing it

**Sarah's POV**

Well, so far, everyone loves my songs. They cheer and clap after every single one. Of course, they always do. The only time they don't is when you're doing an audition for a music competition that's on TV and you sound terrible.

Well, let's continue with this concert now, with another new dress on (and shoes):

 **[All]  
** Sing a new song to the world  
Let your voice be heard  
Go and bring the word  
This whole world was meant to be  
For you as well as me  
For humanity

 **[Selena]  
** We all travel the same road  
Carry the same load

 **[Demi]  
** Reap what we have sowed

 **[Sarah]  
** You are hoping just like me  
To live with dignity

 **[All]**  
Hoping to be free

Sing out, sing out, sing to the world  
Sing out, you will be heard  
Sing the message and the word  
Sing a new song to the world  
Sing out, sing to the world

 **[Sarah]  
** If your God's the same as mine  
 **  
[Demi]  
** Has been for all time

 **[Selena]**  
Why are we so blind?

 **[Sarah]**  
What we're doing in his name  
Well, its a crying shame  
We all cry the same

 **[All]**  
Sing out, sing out, sing to the world  
Sing out, you will be heard  
Sing the message and the word  
Sing a new song to the world  
Sing out, sing to the world  
 _[4X]_

* * *

 **[Sarah]  
** Before I fall too fast  
Kiss me quick but make it last  
So I can see how badly this will hurt me when you say goodbye

Keep it sweet, keep it slow  
Let the future pass and don't let go  
But tonight I could fall too soon under this beautiful moonlight

But you're so hypnotizing  
You've got me laughing while I sing  
You've got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
Your love is where I'm falling  
But please don't catch me . . .

See this heart won't settle down  
Like a child running scared from a clown  
I'm terrified of what you do  
My stomach screams just when I look at you

Run far away so I can breathe  
Even though you're far from suffocating me  
I can't set my hopes too high  
'Cause every "Hello" ends with a "Goodbye"

But you're so hypnotizing  
You've got me laughing while I sing  
You've got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
Your love is where I'm falling  
But please don't catch me . . .

So now you see why I'm scared  
I can't open up my heart without a care  
But here I go, it's what I feel  
And for the first time in my life I know it's real

But you're so hypnotizing  
You've got me laughing while I sing  
You've got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
Your love is where I'm falling  
So please don't catch me

If this is love please don't break me  
I'm giving up so just catch me

* * *

 **[Sarah]  
** I wouldn't wanna be anybody else, hey

You made me insecure,  
Told me I wasn't good enough.  
But who are you to judge  
When you're a diamond in the rough?  
I'm sure you got some things  
You'd like to change about yourself.  
But when it comes to me  
I wouldn't want to be anybody else.

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na  
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na

I'm no beauty queen  
I'm just beautiful me

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na  
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na

You've got every right  
To a beautiful life  
Come on

Who says, who says you're not perfect?  
Who says you're not worth it?  
Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'?  
Trust me, that's the price of beauty  
Who says you're not pretty?  
Who says you're not beautiful?  
Who says?

It's such a funny thing  
How nothing's funny when it's you  
You tell 'em what you mean  
But they keep whiting out the truth  
It's like a work of art  
That never gets to see the light  
Keep you beneath the stars  
Won't let you touch the sky

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na  
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na

I'm no beauty queen  
I'm just beautiful me

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na  
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na

You've got every right  
To a beautiful life  
Come on

Who says, who says you're not perfect?  
Who says you're not worth it?  
Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'?  
Trust me, that's the price of beauty  
Who says you're not pretty?  
Who says you're not beautiful?  
Who says?

Who says you're not star potential?  
Who says you're not presidential?  
Who says you can't be in movies?  
Listen to me, listen to me  
Who says you don't pass the test?  
Who says you can't be the best?  
Who said, who said?  
Would you tell me who said that?  
Yeah, who said?

Who says, who says you're not perfect?  
Who says you're not worth it?  
Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'?  
Trust me, that's the price of beauty  
Who says you're not pretty?  
Who says you're not beautiful? (I'm just beautiful me)  
Who says?

Who says you're not perfect?  
Who says you're not worth it?  
Who says you're the only one that's hurtin'?

Trust me, that's the price of beauty  
Who says you're not pretty?  
Who says you're not beautiful?  
Who says?

* * *

 **[Sarah]  
** I don't know where this road is going to lead me  
But I'm hoping that with you I can make it through  
I've had enough of this life to lead me  
Right up to the edge of the world I knew

I can't wait  
Just to see another day  
If it means it's one more day  
That I'm with you

Down this road  
We'll look back at  
All we've known  
Find a life  
I can grow old  
Just passing through  
In the world I knew

The world I knew

I've never seen a sunrise like this one, no  
It's like the whole world's waking up for us  
They say tomorrow can promise us anything  
So I'll take every moment and make it enough  
Yeah, yeah

I can't wait  
Just to see another day  
If it means it's one more day  
That I'm with you, I'm with you

Down this road  
We'll look back at  
All we've known  
Find a life  
I can grow old  
Just passing through, passing through  
In the world I knew

I'll be loving your light  
Till it fades away  
Tell the world I know  
Cause it will never change  
If something feels so right  
Just can't turn the page  
There's too much to lose  
We're just passing through

Time won't stop  
Wish that we could turn back the clock

I can't wait  
Just to see another day  
If it means it's one more day  
That I'm with you

Down this road  
We'll look back at  
All we've known  
Find a life  
I can grow old  
Just passing through  
In the world I knew  
The world I knew  
The world I knew  
The world I knew

* * *

 **[Sarah]  
** Na na na na na, na na

Take a look around  
Who would have thought we'd all be here?  
So let's mess around  
Cause the future is unclear  
We got nothing better to do  
We're just trying to get through  
Can you hear me?  
Can you hear me?  
Yeah

Let the music groove you  
Let the melody move you  
Feel the beat and just let go  
Get the rhythm into your soul  
Let the music take you  
Anywhere it wants to  
When we're stuck and can't get free  
No matter what, we'll still be singing  
Come on, come on  
Turn up the music  
It's all we got  
We're gonna use it  
Come on, come on  
Turn up the music  
Yeah

All we have is now  
Let's make the most of this  
Come on break it out  
So everyone can hear it  
They don't have to understand  
But we'll make them if we can  
Do you hear me?  
Are you with me?  
Yeah

Let the music groove you  
Let the melody move you  
Feel the beat and just let go  
Get the rhythm into your soul  
Let the music take you  
Anywhere it wants to  
When we're stuck and can't get free  
No matter what, we'll still be singing

Come on, come on  
Turn up the music  
It's all we got  
We're gonna use it  
Come on, come on  
Turn up the music  
Yeah

Come on, come on  
Turn up the music  
It's all we got  
We're gonna use it  
Come on, come on  
Turn up the music

Let the music groove you  
Let the melody move you  
Feel the beat and just let go  
Get the rhythm into your soul  
Let the music take you  
Anywhere it wants to  
When we're stuck and can't get free  
No matter what, we'll still be singing

Come on, come on  
Turn up the music  
It's all we got  
We're gonna use it  
Feel the beat and just let go  
Get the rhythm into your soul

Let the music take you  
Anywhere it wants to  
Come on, come on  
Turn up the music  
Yeah

* * *

 **[Sarah]  
** The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm  
And I'm a house of cards  
You're the kind of reckless  
That should send me runnin'  
But I kinda know that I won't get far  
And you stood there in front of me  
Just close enough to touch  
Close enough to hope you couldn't see  
What I was thinking of

Drop everything now  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

My mind forgets to remind me  
You're a bad idea  
You touch me once and it's really something,  
You find I'm even better than you imagined I would be.  
I'm on my guard for the rest of the world  
But with you I know it's no good  
And I could wait patiently but I really wish you would . . .

Drop everything now  
Meet me in the pouring rain  
Kiss me on the sidewalk  
Take away the pain  
'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

I'll run my fingers through your hair and watch the lights go wild.  
Just keep on keeping your eyes on me, it's just wrong enough to make it feel right.  
And lead me up the staircase  
Won't you whisper soft and slow?  
I'm captivated by you, baby, like a firework show.

Drop everything now,  
Meet me in the pouring rain,  
Kiss me on the sidewalk,  
Take away the pain  
'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile.  
Get me with those green eyes, baby, as the lights go down  
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around  
'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile

And the sparks fly . . .  
Oh, baby, smile . . .  
And the sparks fly . . .

* * *

 **[Sarah]  
** The slightest words you said  
Have all gone to my head  
I hear angels sing in your voice  
When you pull me close  
Feelings I've never known  
They mean everything  
And leave me no choice

Light on my heart, light on my feet  
Light in your eyes I can't even speak  
Do you even know how you make me weak?

I'm a lightweight  
Better be careful what you say  
With every word I'm blown away  
You're in control of my heart  
I'm a lightweight  
Easy to fall, easy to break  
With every move my whole world shakes  
Keep me from falling apart

Make a promise, please  
You'll always be in reach  
Just in case I need  
You there when I call  
This is all so new  
Seems too good to be true  
Could this really be  
A safe place to fall

Light on my heart, light on my feet  
Light in your eyes I can't even speak  
Do you even know how you make me weak, oh whoa?

I'm a lightweight  
Better be careful what you say  
With every word I'm blown away  
You're in control of my heart  
I'm a lightweight  
Easy to fall, easy to break  
With every move my whole world shakes  
Keep me from falling apart  
Keep me from falling down

Drowned in your love  
It's almost all too much  
Handle with care  
Say you'll be there

Oh, I'm a lightweight  
Better be careful what you say  
With every word I'm blown away  
You're in control of my heart  
I'm a lightweight  
Easy to fall, easy to break  
With every move my whole world shakes  
Keep me from falling apart  
Keep me from falling apart  
Keep me from falling apart, oh  
Falling apart

* * *

 **[Sarah]  
** I used to live in a darkened room  
Had a face of stone  
And a heart of gloom

Lost my hope, I was so far gone  
Cryin' all my tears  
With the curtains drawn

I didn't know until my soul broke free  
I've got these angels watching over me

Oh watch me go  
I'm a happy girl  
Everybody knows  
That the sweetest thing you'll ever see  
In the whole wide world  
Is a happy girl

I used to hide in a party crowd  
Bottled up inside  
Feeling so left out

Standing in a corner wearing concrete shoes  
With my frozen smile  
And my lighted fuse

Now every time I start to feel like that  
I roll my heart out like a welcome mat

Oh watch me go  
I'm a happy girl  
Everybody knows  
That the sweetest thing you'll ever see  
In the whole wide world  
Is a happy girl

Laugh when I feel like it  
Cry when I feel like it  
That's just how my life is  
That's how it goes

Oh watch me go  
I'm a happy girl  
And I've come to know  
That the world won't change  
Just 'cause I complain  
Let the axis twirl  
I'm a happy girl

Oh watch me go  
I'm a happy girl  
Everybody knows  
That the sweetest thing you'll ever see  
In the whole wide world  
Is a happy girl

Oh, yeah  
Oh, yeah  
I'm a happy girl

* * *

Ok. Now it was time.

I was back stage for the moment, preparing myself for my next song.

"Oh, Sarah," Mom said. "Don't make this look like a funeral."

I understood what she meant. I put on a black dress for this song. It was kind of stylish, but it was still black. I don't actually like wearing the color black (I also got from my mom, and being with Zak and his family for the past year made me like the color even less), but I felt like it was the best for this song.

"It already is," I muttered.

I grabbed my microphone and walked back on stage.

I waited for Jessica to start the music on the piano, then I began to sing when it was time:

Four years old with my back to the door  
All I could hear was the family war  
Your selfish hands always expecting more  
Am I your child or just a charity award?

You have a hollowed out heart  
But it's heavy in your chest  
I try so hard to fight it but it's hopeless  
Hopeless, you're hopeless

Oh, father, please, father  
I'd love to leave you alone  
But I can't let you go  
Oh, father, please, father  
Put the bottle down  
For the love of a daughter  
Oh

It's been five years since we've spoken last  
And you can't take back  
What we never had  
Oh, I can be manipulated  
Only so many times,  
Before even "I love you"  
Starts to sound like a lie

You have a hollowed out heart  
But it's heavy in your chest  
I try so hard to fight it but it's hopeless  
Hopeless, you're hopeless

Oh, father, please, father  
I'd love to leave you alone  
But I can't let you go  
Oh, father, please, father  
Put the bottle down  
For the love of a daughter

Don't you remember I'm your baby girl?  
How could you push me out of your world,  
Lied to your flesh and your blood,  
Put your hands on the ones that you swore you loved?  
Don't you remember I'm your baby girl?  
How could you throw me right out of your world?  
So young when the pain had begun  
Now forever afraid of being loved

Oh, father, please, father  
I'd love to leave you alone  
But I can't let you go  
Oh, father, please, father

Oh, father, please, father  
Put the bottle down  
For the love of a daughter  
For the love of a daughter

Well, like in practice, I cried every time at the third verse, but I did it. I sang my song for my dad. And I got a lot of standing ovations for it.

Now just one more song to go. Let's do it.

 **[Demi]  
** When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;  
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;  
 **  
[Selena]  
** Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,  
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

 **[Sarah]  
** You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

 **[All]  
** You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;  
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;  
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;  
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

Well, that was the end of the concert, with a lot of cheering, clapping, standing ovations, and confetti. You can never end something like that without confetti.

Now it was time to meet my fans.

"Thank you, thank you," I said. "Settle down for a minute. I have something to say."

They did.

"Ok, well, I'd like to say that you are all such amazing fans. I couldn't ask for a better crowd. And because of that, I want you all to come meet me back stage. No back stage passes required."

They cheered like crazy now that I doubt they heard the rest of what I said.

"Each group will only spend a maximum of five minutes with me, take a picture, get an autograph, whatever. So come on back. I'll be waiting for you."

I ran off the stage.

I knew that that was kind of crazy, because I'll probably be here all night, but I didn't care. I love my fans and I wanted to show them my appreciation. But before I did that, I took a five minute break first. Thank God the cubs got the Saturdays back here before I said that to the crowd.

Zak gave me a kiss.

Zak gave me a kiss. "You were amazing, Sarah."

His family agreed.

I smiled. "Thank you. There was a lot of pressure, but I got through it."

"Yes, you did. But do you really want to meet all those people?"

I nodded. "Yes. I want to show them my gratitude. I know it'll take all night, but it'll be worth it."

"Don't worry," Mom said. "We have a lot of things in the back for us to pass the time while Sarah's with her fans."

"Wait," Zak said. "Sarah's just going to be with them alone?"

"I don't mind," I said. "Besides, I won't be totally alone. The cubs will take turns with me every half hour or so. But if you or anybody else would like to join me, you can."

"Ok. Then I will."

"Really?"

"Of course. I'll do anything with you."

I smiled. "I know you will. And I will with you too."

"I'll wait in the back," Dad said, and he walked off.

He seemed sad for some reason.

"Did that song work?" I asked.

"I think so," Mom replied. "He's had that look on his face since you finished that song. He was drinking a bottle of beer and he threw it in the trash. Whether that was because it was empty or because he was emotionally effected by that song, I don't know. But I'd say it was quite an accomplishment."

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, well, I better go before my fans get rowdy."

"Ok. We'll see you two in a bit."

Zak grabbed my hand and we went off to visit my fans.

We made this lounge with beverages and cookies. A lot of them. And we had a countdown clock that starts when the group first enters the room and it beeps when five minutes were up. It took hours, and we were there until about dawn. I met with my fans, we chatted a little, took pictures, signed autographs, the usual.

Every once in a while, a boy would come along and ask me to kiss him. It was awkward, especially with Zak there, some even asked me to kiss their babies. I did for each one that asked. The babies I did it willingly. The boys? Not so much. I just gave them a quick kiss on the cheek and nothing more. But I still very much enjoyed meeting my fans that were there.

All of us were so tired, but I doubt as tired as I was. So everyone stayed in our guest rooms for most of the day. Zak stayed with me, of course.

I had just finished brushing my teeth and hair and was about to get into bed when I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

"Umm, come in," I said.

The door opened and my dad stepped inside.

"Oh. Hey, Dad. Do you need something?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied. "I know you're probably tired, but I need to talk to you for a moment."

"I'll leave you two alone," Zak said.

"No, you don't have to. I won't be long."

"Uh, ok." He slowly sat back down on my bed.

Yeah, even I was surprised by that.

"What is it, Dad?" I asked.

He sat down on my chair by my desk. "It's about that song you sang. I had no idea of how much I was hurting you."

"No, Dad. You weren't hurting me. I'll admit, that song was a little too much, or way too much. You weren't neglecting me, since that's what most of the song was referring too was neglect."

"But I was neglecting you."

"No, you weren't. I didn't want that song to be that way at all."

"But it was. You wrote that song that way because a part of you knew that that's how it's been with us, but you didn't want to believe it, and you wanted me to know that that's how you feel."

I hesitated. Was that really why I wrote that song? I didn't know anymore.

"Sarah, you and I haven't really been the way we were since before you met Zak," Dad continued. "And I blame myself for that."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I had my doubts about Zak. But now, after getting to know him myself a little bit, there's no one else I'd much rather you have as your boyfriend. I can see how much he truly cares about you and loves you."

I smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

"Now, I know that the main part of that song was to get me to stop drinking, and for you, and probably even your mother, I will."

I was so overjoyed to hear him say that that I ran to him and embraced him in a hug with tears streaking down my face. "Thank you."

He hugged me back. "No, thank you for making finally see how I've truly become."

We pulled away and I wiped my tears.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone now," Dad said.

"Ok," I said.

"Good night."

He left my room, closing the door behind him.

I turned to Zak with a big smile on my face. I gave him a kiss and a hug.

"Well, I'd say that was a job well done," he said.

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. And did you notice that he practically gave you his blessing?"

"Yeah, he kind of did. So now what do you want to do?"

"I'm tired and sleepy. So let's rest."

He smiled. "You've earned it."

He gave me a kiss. We climbed into bed and cuddled together.

Today really was a successful day. My dad was finally going to stop drinking, thanks to me and my friends and family's help.

Life is a song . . .

Sing it.-

* * *

 **Don't we all wish our favorite singers would do that: meet with all of their fans that came after their concert ended? That might make me want to go to concerts, because I hate live music. It doesn't sound as good as it does on the album. But would you be willing to wait so many hours to meet your favorite singer for just five minutes? I don't know if I would. But, yay, Sarah's song worked! Aww, and he's accepted Zak. How cute.**

 **Anyway, nobody guessed any of the songs for the last chapter, but maybe you know them. Here are the names and singers of those songs, in order:**

 **1.** _Brand New Day, by Demi Lovato._

 **2.** _Awakening, by Celtic Women._

 **3.** _The World Falls Away, by Celtic Women._

 **4.** _Had me at H_ _ello, by Olivia Holt._

 **5.** _Heart Attack, by Demi Lovato._

 **6.** _Take to the Sky, by Jordan Pruitt._

 **7.** _A Year Without Rain, by Selena Gomez._

 **8.** _Hit the Lights, by Selena Gomez._

 **9.** _Mine, by Taylor Swift._

 **10.** _Fearless, by Taylor Swift._

 **Now, can you guys guess what the last ten songs were in this chapter?**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	69. I Help Zak With His Powers

**Sarah's POV**

I was on my way to visit Zak for the day. Since it was summer, I tried to be with him as much as I could.

When I found him at his house, he was in the living room, with Fiskerton, Set, Zon, and Komodo.

"Dude, you really need to stop trying," Set said. "They're never going to come back. Just give up already."

I was taking in the situation. Zak was holding his claw at his pets and he was really frustrated. I could tell why.

"Zak?" I called out.

They all finally noticed me.

"Uh, hey, guys. Didn't mean to sneak up on you like that."

"You've been doing it all summer," Set said. "It's not really being sneaked up anymore, it's obsession."

I glared at him. "Shut up. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Zak alone."

"Even if I do mind, you're gonna throw me out, aren't you?"

"Oh, you bet your ass I will."

"Then bring it—"

"Set!" Zak interrupted. "Get out. And could the rest of you please leave too?"

The cryptids nodded and left the room, Set following behind them.

I turned back to Zak. "Zak, what's wrong?"

He sighed and sat down.

I sat next to him. "You miss your powers, don't you?"

He nodded. "It's gonna take some getting use to."

"But you don't want to get use to it."

He shook his head. "It's hard to get use to something you've had since the day you were born and it being gone forever."

I nodded as if I understood, which I kind of did. But this might be repairable.

"Maybe I can get your powers back for you," I said.

He stared at me. "How?"

"Let me go talk to my mom. I bet she knows how."

"Ok."

I kissed him. "I'll be back in a while."

He nodded. "Ok."

I teleported myself home.

I searched the house for my mom, but she wasn't there. Then I looked outside through the window in the living room across the street and saw that she was in the park, playing Frisbee with the animals.

I ran out there to meet them. "Mom!"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I need to ask you something."

"Ok. What is it?"

"I was wondering if there was any way that I could get Zak his powers back?"

"Umm, I don't know. It's probably possible, but you're going to have to talk to Narma about it."

"Why?"

"Because she is the queen of the Immortal world and is the only Immortal that can give you powers."

"Like she gave to you."

She nodded. "Yes."

"So I have to go to the Immortal world to find her?" I asked.

"Yes," Mom replied. "You want to go there now?"

I nodded. "Yes. Can you teach me how to get there?"

"Of course. I'll go with you." She turned to the animals. "Guys, Sarah and I are going to—"

"We heard, Raylee," Amber interrupted. "Go."

"Ok then. Let's go."

Mom showed me what to do and I teleported us off to the Immortal world.

* * *

"Ok. You see that castle on that tall cliff in the distance?" Mom asked me.

I nodded. "That's where she lives?"

"Yeah. She is a queen, and it's only natural for a queen to live in a big castle. It can be seen no matter where you are in the Immortal world. Come on."

I didn't recall seeing it the last time I was here, but then again, I didn't care at that time because my brother was finally back.

After reaching the castle, we went inside and headed to the throne room. Once we got there, Narma appeared a few moments later. She apparently wasn't expected to see us, or anybody, for two reasons: one, she was startled when she saw us; and two . . .

"Oh my God, Narma," Mom said. "Really?"

She was wearing what looked like a man's shirt because it fell a few inches past her waist and that's about all that she was wearing. I hoped that she was at least wearing underwear, but I was afraid to find out.

"Hey, this is my house," Narma said. "I believe I have the right to wear whatever I please and not be judged about it. That's what you would say, right?"

"Not in those exact words," Mom muttered. "And I certainly would not be half-dressed in my house, even if I was alone, because I don't find any comfort in it."

"I wouldn't normally be dressed like this if you had called before coming here."

"Next time, I'll be sure to do that."

I looked at the door where Narma had came through. It seemed to be a bedroom, and a man was peeking at me with the door open a little bit. It was Nick.

I gasped.

"What is it, Sarah?" Mom asked.

Nick's eye were pleading to me to be quiet.

"Nothing," I lied.

"Ok."

"I'm guessing you two came here for something?" Narma asked.

"Yes," Mom replied. "Sarah?"

"Umm, I was wondering if you could Zak his powers back?" I asked.

"You say that as if I've stolen them," Narma replied.

I shook my head. "I didn't mean it that way. I meant it like replacing them with a new set of the same kind of powers to allow him to control cryptids again. Can you do that for me?"

She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Why not? I liked Raylee, and you're her daughter, so I like you too."

"I don't want to know what you mean by 'like'," Mom said.

"Thank you, Narma," I said.

"You're welcome," she replied. "But we're not done yet. If you want me to just give Zak his cryptid powers back, you have to allow me to give him yours."

"Mine?"

"Yes. You do know that you can do what he can with his powers, right?"

I nodded. "Yes. But if I transfer that power to him, I will no longer have that power myself?"

"Right. So are you willing to do that?"

I nodded without hesitation. I mean, it's not like I used them before. Why would I want to now?

"Ok. Hold your hand out."

I did as she told me.

She walked up to me, which was disturbing since she was half-naked, and touched her hand to mine. She closed her eyes and concentrated. A moment later, I felt a small part of my power being sucked away.

Narma pulled her hand away and opened her eyes. There was a small bright orange orb in the palm of my hand.

"There you go," she said. "Just touch that to Zak and he'll have his powers again. But if you touch someone else with that hand before you touch Zak, don't worry, it won't go to them. It's only set to go to Zak."

"Thank you, Narma," I said.

"You're welcome. And Raylee, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. How's it been?"

"I think you know," she replied.

"Of course I do. After all, I am the one that gave you your powers oh so many years ago, and you're still my favorite Immortal."

"Yeah, well, you're not exactly mine. Let's go now, Sarah."

"Uh, actually, can I stay for a little while longer?" I asked. "You go ahead and go."

"Uh, ok. Why?"

"I just want to look around this place alone."

"Ok. If you can't get back to earth, you can call me."

"Ok. I will. Bye."

"Bye."

And she left.

"Nick?" I called out.

He came out of hiding. He was shirtless (gee, I wonder where his shirt was) and seemed to be blushing.

"Hi, Sarah," he said.

"Hi," I replied.

I looked between him and Narma, who was smiling kind of wickedly.

Nick held his hand up. "It's not what it looks like."

"Really?" I asked in disbelief.

He sighed. "You're not stupid. Yes, it is what it looks like."

"Didn't you tell me, or Zack, that you still love my mom?"

"Yes. And I do. I always will, and nothing's going to change that."

"Really?" I gestured toward Narma.

"Hey, in my defense, your mom is married to your dad, and has sex with him at least once a week."

"Yes, I know that, and I don't want to be reminded of it."

"Sorry."

"You're forgiven. But I actually didn't want to talk to you about _that_ because I get it."

"I know that's not what you wanted to tell me."

"You did?"

He nodded. "I know you as well as I know your mom. I did watch you grow up, after all."

"Ok. Well, anyway, thank you for saving my brother a few months ago."

"You're welcome. And I'm sorry for keeping him from you for a while."

"You were just keeping him safe. Now if you don't mind, I need to go give Zak his powers."

"Ok. But before you go, I want to tell you that you are a lot like your mother."

"Ok . . ."

"Do you want to know what I mean by that?"

"Sure."

"You have good self-control."

"What do you mean?"

"With Zack, your brother. He's advanced on you a couple times, and you liked it, but you know it's wrong enough to be strong enough to stop it."

I hesitated. "You know about that?"

"I watch your family all the time. I know a lot of things that happen. But it's good that you stopped your brother. Your mother's been in similar situations in her life. Not with her brothers, but with other guys she's dated who wanted more from her, but she didn't want to give more of her than she wanted and always made sure she never did, even to me. Make sure you always look out for that, especially with your brother."

"Ok. But how did she handle those other guys? What happened with them?"

"Most of them she got out of ok, though one in particular, whenever she talks about it, she gets very emotional, mostly out of shame. But she made it through just fine."

"Because of you?"

"Actually, that one happened a few years before I met your mother. And, no, when she first told me about it, it was only because I kind of put her through that same moment again and she cried at the memory of it."

"What happened to her? And what did you do to her to make her remind her of it?"

"It's not as bad as I may be making it sound like it was, probably because when she told me it sounded that bad, though it wasn't. She's told you about her worse experiences. That one was just her first experience regarding that, and she was not ready for it."

"Not ready for what?"

"You'll have to ask her about it. Until then, we'll see each other again someday."

"Is that all you say when you say goodbye?" I asked.

"With you, for now, yes," he said. "Sarah, I do promise to tell your mom someday."

"I know you will. Bye."

"Bye."

I teleported myself out of the Immortal world and into the Saturday's house.

Zak was still in the same room as before. The boys were back with him.

"Hey, Zak," I greeted. "I've got a surprise for you."

"Should I bother pretending to now know what it is?" he said. "You already told me before you left."

"Ok. Right. Well, hold out your hand."

He did and I touched my hand to his. It seemed to vibrate through his whole body.

"Whoa," he said.

I smiled in triumph. "Try them out."

He grabbed his claw and looked at Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon. He tried his powers and his eyes began to glow orange. He was in control of all three of them.

He deactivated his powers and smiled. "Thank you, Sarah. You're really amazing."

"You're welcome." I gave him a kiss. "Now they're not as strong as they use to be. Like they were before you got your Kur powers, and I can feel that with my powers."

"So can I. But, still, thank you."

Just for fun, I tried to control Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon the same way he did, but I felt nothing. That power was really gone now.

"Hey, what about me?" Set asked. "Why don't I get my powers back?"

"Because if I give you your powers back too, you and Zak will fight over who gets to control a cryptid, and I know you will because you have before. You two will probably end up torturing the poor cryptid instead."

"Ok. But why him instead of me?"

"Do I really have to answer that? He's my boyfriend, you're not."

He pouted. "Fine. But no fair."

"Oh, well, that's mature," I said sarcastically.

"Stop you two," Zak said. "Now can you guys leave me and Sarah alone?"

"Whatever," Set said. "Come on, guys."

The four of them left the room.

I turned to Zak, and he had a crazy smile on his face. "What?"

"Come on," he replied.

He grabbed my hand and led me to his room. Once there, we cuddled on his bed.

"Thank you so much, Sarah, for giving me my powers back," Zak said.

"Zak, you don't have to keep telling me how grateful you are about it," I said.

"Then can I ask why you did it? And don't say that it was because I'm your boyfriend."

"Well, it's true."

"Give me another reason."

"Ok. Well, I did it because I love you."

He smiled. "I love you too."

My necklace glowed in response to that.

We leaned in and kissed passionately.

* * *

 **Aww. Zak has his powers back. How cool is that? And Sarah seems to be having a hard time of determining whether Nick is a good guy or not.**

 **Here's the list of the last ten songs that Sarah sang in the last chapter:**

 **1.** _Sing Out, by Celtic Women._

 **2.** _Catch Me, by Demi Lovato._

 **3.** _Who Says, by Selena Gomez._

 **4.** _The World I Knew, by Jordan Sparks._

 **5.** _Turn up the Music, by Lemonade Mouth._

 **6.** _Sparks Fly, by Taylor Swift._

 **7.** _Lightweight, by Demi Lovato._

 **8.** _Happy Girl, by Martina McBride._

 **9.** _For the Love of a Daughter, by Demi Lovato._

 **10.** _You Raise me Up, by Celtic Women._

 **I'll have all of these songs on my wiki when I get the time to add them.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	70. Bro Day

**Zak's POV**

Zak here.

Set, Zack, and I were outside his house, playing some basketball outside of Zack's house.

"Ok, so, remind me again why we're doing this?" Set asked.

"Doing what?" Zack asked.

"This. Why we're here with you and not off doing something that isn't boring."

"This isn't boring."

"Not to you, it isn't. But to me, it is."

"Set," I said. "Shut up."

"Hey, I just wanna know why we have to do this," he replied.

"Look, I just thought that, since our girlfriends—mine and Zak's—are having a girl's day out today, that us guys could have a Bro day," Zack said.

"Bro as in brothers? We're not brothers."

"No. Not yet, anyway."

"What do you mean by 'not yet'?" I asked.

"I think you know, Zak. If you and Sarah get married someday, you and I will be brothers-in-law."

I smiled at the thought of it. Not of me and Zack being brothers-in-law, but of me being married to Sarah.

"Yeah, slim chance of that ever happening," Set said.

I frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you two are only twelve. You've got many years to go before you can get married, and, sorry, but I doubt your relationship is going to last that long. Same with you, Zack."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because relationships at our age never do last that long."

"That's probably because they were never true relationships. I know that mine and Selena's is, and I know that it'll last forever with us."

"Me too," I agreed. "Me and Sarah, I mean."

"Oh, you wanna bet?" Set said.

We threw our balls at him. He threw them back, but we caught them, which made him mad. We went back to shooting hoops.

Set groaned. "I can't make a single basket. Even if I go close to it, I still miss."

Zack chuckled, but he had a guilty look on his face. "Yeah, uh, I'm using my powers to keep you from making one."

I laughed and gave him a high-five. Set threw his ball at him.

"Oh, please," a voice said.

Then a basketball was thrown into the hoop from out of no where.

We turned in the direction it came from.

Zack groaned. "Danielle. What do you want this time?"

She smiled coldly. "Not you, that's for sure. Hello, Set. It's been a while."

"Uh, yeah," he replied. "Where have you been? Why didn't you help me get out of that mirror?"

"Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me'? You've gotten yourself back into that mirror twice, which proves how much of a fool you are. Besides, I knew you would come back less than a year later. I can see the future, you know, which you never mess with. I hated to wait for you, but I had no choice."

"Oh, yeah. Like you were waiting for me and not making out with your brother the whole time."

"What?" I asked, shocked. "You're making out with your brother? Isn't that a crime?"

"I don't know," Danielle said with a weird smile on her face. "Is it, Zack?"

He seemed to be blushing, but I wasn't sure. "Yes."

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Well, whether it is or isn't, I don't care. My mom doesn't like it either, but so what?"

"That's disturbing," I said.

"Uh, yeah," Zack agreed, though he didn't sound quite sure. "Yeah, it is."

"Whatever," she said. "Set, I miss you. I want you to come back to the Anti-Immortal world with me."

Set thought about it. "What's in it for me?"

"Well, you get to be with me and away from these people."

"Anything else?"

"I might be able to get you your own _set_ of powers."

"Ok. You have yourself a deal." He turned toward me and Zack. "Bye, guys."

And they disappeared.

"Good riddance," Zack said and shot another basket.

"To who?" I asked. "Set or Danielle?"

"Both of them. They're both equally annoying."

"What did she mean by the way she asked you if a brother and sister making out is a crime?"

He hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't think she meant anything by it."

"But you looked like you do know something about it."

"It's nothing, Zak. Just drop it already."

I didn't want to, but his glare made me.

"Why did you want me to have a 'Bro Day' with you?" I asked him. "Were your other friends busy or something?"

Zack stared at me. "What? You're kidding, right? I like you a little better than them, and I don't mean that in a gay way. Plus, you're my sister's boyfriend. And, like I said before, you two might get married someday and we would be brothers-in-law. I kind of hope that, 'cause I'd like you to be my brother. And I can assure you that I won't be like it was with your dad and Doyle."

We laughed.

"I know it won't be," I said. "And, I guess, thanks for accepting me as a brother and into your family."

"You're welcome," Zack said. "Now how about we play some one-on-one?"

"Ok."

We played three times and he won them all, but I didn't care. I liked spending a Bro Day with him. And if he can accept me as his brother, I can accept him as mine too.

* * *

 **Well, Zak finally got a POV again, even if it was really short. I wanted to create something with Zak and Zack, and get rid of Set. But in the next chapter, there's going to be a time-skip, and the beginning of drama.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	71. Beeman's Niece

**Zak's POV**

"I've got you now, Fisk," I said.

We were playing a racing video game that Zack lent to me. Fisk and I were fighting for 1st place. I managed to keep it, even though he was tailgating me. But in the end, he won.

"Rematch?" I asked.

Fisk nodded.

Just as we were about to restart, my mom came into the room.

"Zak, Dr. Beeman's here, and he brought someone along with him," she said.

"Oh, really?" I asked. "Who?"

"His niece."

"He has a niece?"

"I know. Come and meet her."

"Ok."

We went off to visit Dr. Beeman and his niece.

* * *

"Hey, Dr. B," I greeted when I entered our landing area and spotted him. "What's up?"

"Let's cut the chit-chat, shall we?" he replied, then gestured to the girl standing next to him.

She looked to be about my age, maybe a little younger.

She had blond hair, blue eyes, and dressed like she was about to go hiking with a brown backpack on her back. She was pretty.

"Haircut, this is my niece, Amber." Beeman introduced. "Amber, this is Haircut."

Amber laughed. "Can you ever call someone by their real name? Haircut isn't your name, right?"

I shook my head and extended my hand to her. "No. It's Zak, actually."

She shook my hand. "Nice to meet you, Zak. I've heard a lot about you."

"Yeah, and I've heard nothing about you."

"I like to keep my personal life personal," Beeman said.

"Yes, you do, Uncle Arthur," Amber said.

"Hey, umm, I've got a video game set up," I said. "Do you want to play it?"

"What game is it?"

"A game where you race racecars."

"Oh, ok."

"Follow me."

Fisk and I set up a third controller for Amber and we started racing. She beat us the first race.

"I love racing," she said. "Especially with cars."

I smirked. "I do, too. So what did your uncle tell you about me?"

"A lot of things, and not necessarily in a good way. One in particular, Kur."

"Oh."

"Yeah. But I think he and the other Secret Scientists were unreasonable about that. It was crazy, especially for my uncle with me . . ." She faltered. "Anyway, do you mind if I ask to see your powers?"

"Uh, sure. Fisk?"

He frowned, but nodded reluctantly.

I activated my powers and got in control of Fisk.

"That is so cool," Amber said. "Can you do anything else?"

"Uh, not really," I replied.

"Oh. Well, that's still cool."

"Thanks."

Amber gasped. "Wow. A komodo dragon."

I hadn't noticed that Komodo came into the room.

Amber went toward him and looked him over. "Hi, Komodo. I can see how healthy you are. You take very good care of him, Zak."

"Thanks," I said. "But I'd say he takes care of himself most of the time."

"Ah. So you're an independent komodo dragon. How mature of you."

Komodo seemed to like her.

"You know, Zak," Amber said. "You're really lucky to have a family like this. A mom and a dad and these awesome pets."

"Uh, thanks," I said. "But I'm sure your family is just as cool."

She smiled half-heartedly, her expression half pained. "Kind of. Yeah."

I wanted to ask her about her family, but it was obvious that it wasn't a good subject for her, so I didn't ask. Instead, I decided to change the subject.

"Hey, you want to race again?" I asked.

"I'll just beat you again, and you know it," Amber said. "Do you maybe have a combat game?"

"Yeah."

I placed it in the machine and we played it.

She beat me every time, but I killed her a few times. A while later, she had to go home.

"Can I come back tomorrow, Uncle Arthur?" Amber asked.

"No," he replied. "You've spent enough time with him as it is."

"Yes. And you and I both know that I don't really have to ask for your permission to do what I want. I can do it on my own."

"You promised you wouldn't do that again."

"You made me promise not to do that, and my mom too, but you don't know that I crossed my fingers behind my back when I promised that as a psyche. Oh! Now you know."

Doyle and I laughed.

"Umm, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"It's none of your business," Beeman said.

"Maybe he can help," Amber said.

"You won't get help from him. All he'll do is cause trouble."

"No, he won't. I know I just met him, but I learned that he's not at all the way you described him to me."

"Enough, Amber. We're leaving. Now."

"Fine. Goodbye, Zak. I enjoyed spending today with you. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Ok," I said.

"No, you won't," Beeman said.

"You're not my father," Amber told him. "And even if you were, good luck stopping me. Bye, Zak."

She gave me a kiss on the cheek and left the room.

Beeman sighed. "Teenagers."

He followed after her.

"You didn't tell her about Sarah, did you?" Doyle asked me.

I shook my head. "No. I know I should have, though."

"She's getting attached to you," Mom said.

"I know, and I know it's bad. But do you guys know anything about what they were talking about?"

My parents shook their heads.

"Dr. Beeman told us that she can be a troublemaker," Dad said. "But not exactly a bad one. We didn't even know she existed until today."

"Maybe I can talk to her about it tomorrow," I said.

"You can try."

I was going to whether they let me or not.

* * *

The next day, Amber came over early.

I decided to play a game with her first before I talked to her. We played hide-and-seek banners in the green house. She won that. Then we hung out in the living room.

"My uncle also neglected to tell me how fun you are and how cute you look," Amber said.

I blushed. "Uh, thanks. But, Amber, I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I—"

"Zak?" a voice interrupted.

We turned to see my girlfriend watching me with her arms crossed.

"Oh. Hi, Sarah," I said, quickly moving toward her and away from Amber.

"Hi," Sarah said, staring at Amber. "Who's your new friend?"

"Uh, this is Amber. Beeman's niece. Amber, this is my girlfriend, Sarah."

"Oh," Amber said, looking kind of disappointed. Then she smiled. "Hello, Sarah."

"Hi," she said. She looked at her suspiciously. "Zak, why is she—wait. Did you say she was Beeman's niece?"

"Yes, I am," Amber said. "You're surprised, aren't you?"

"I'd be more surprised if you were his daughter."

"So would I, considering my mom is his sister."

"Wow. I kind of feel sorry for you."

"Why? You don't like him?"

"Not one bit."

"Is it because of what he and the other Secret Scientists were trying to do to Zak when he was Kur?"

"Mostly, yes. But I hated him way before then."

"Yeah, he's hard to deal with. But he's never mentioned you before."

"He hasn't?" I asked.

Amber shook her head. "No. What's your name, Sarah?"

"Hollinger. Why?"

"Hollinger . . ." Amber grabbed her backpack, pulled out an electronic pad, and typed some things into to. A moment later, she looked at Sarah. "Your mom is Raylee Hollinger?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes."

"And you're a professional singer?"

"Yes. I'm guessing you've never heard my songs before?"

"No."

"Would you like me to give you a copy of my albums?"

"That would be awesome."

Sarah summoned them to her hands and gave them to her.

"Thanks," Amber said.

She took them, not looking surprised at all that Sarah had powers, and Sarah noticed it too. But she and Amber regarded each other with cold looks. I was worried that they would attack each other, so I tried to stand between them without making it look obvious.

"So, uh, how long have you guys been a couple?" Amber asked.

"About three years," I replied.

She glared at me. " _Three years?_ "

"You look mad," Sarah said.

"That's because I am. But not at you."

"Then who?"

"My uncle. I really wish he introduced me to the Saturdays sooner."

"Why?"

"That's none of your business."

"We'll see about that."

"Sarah," I said.

She looked at me.

 _Be nice,_ I mouthed to her.

 _Why?_ she asked me through telepathy.

 _Because there's no reason for you not to be._

 _That's what you think._

 _What do you mean?_

Sarah sighed. "Let's go talk in private."

"Fine," I said. "We'll be right back, Amber."

"Ok," she said.

Sarah grabbed my arm hard and pulled me into the next room.

"Ow," I said.

"Sorry," she said, though her glare kind of told me she wasn't. "Zak, what do you know about her?"

"Uh, nothing, really. I just met her yesterday. Why? Do you know her?"

"No." She didn't sound sure. "But she's not entirely human."

"What do you mean?"

"I feel a strong power surging from her, and I wouldn't feel anything if she was one-hundred-percent mortal."

"Oh. What do you think she is? An Immortal?"

"Maybe. But I'm not sure. You need to be careful."

"I am. But I doubt she'll hurt me."

"You never know. And you just met her, right?"

"Yes. But that doesn't mean you can't be nice to her."

"I will once she tells us who she is."

"Sarah."

"Zak, I'm just being careful for both our sakes."

"You can be careful and nice at the same time."

Sarah crossed her arms and stared at me.

"Please, Sarah," I pleaded. "For me?"

She sighed. "Fine."

I kissed her. "Thank you."

"Whatever."

We went back to the living room where Amber was playing the combat video game.

"Hey, guys," she said. "Wanna play?"

"Sure," I replied. "Sarah?"

She was glaring at Amber.

I nudged her.

"Ok," she said. "I'll play against you first."

"Ok," Amber said, and handed her a controller.

She yanked it out of her hand.

They chose characters and fought. I'm happy to say, for once, that I never got a turn. They played for hours. Sarah was never really a sore loser until now, because every time Amber beat her, she'd get madder and madder and call rematch. Amber did too. They took turns winning and losing, but never gave up until I finally turned the game off. Sarah was mad at me for that and, as a result, went home. Amber went home a little while later too, saying she'd come back tomorrow.

I sighed. I have a new friend that my girlfriend does not like and was going out of control of herself because of it.

What should I do?

* * *

 **Yep. This typical, stupid drama. I had to do something, and I liked this idea. By the way, do you guys remember Amber? This was not the first chapter she appeared in. The idea about her being Beeman's niece, though, I actually got from another fanfiction I read on here, except I don't think her name was Amber, and she had a twin brother.**

 **Oh, and do you remember that time-skip I mentioned last chapter? Sarah and Zak are now 14. I skipped past their 13th year. I did have one idea for it a long time ago, but I got rid of it and instead skipped it.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	72. Something We Thought Would Never Happen

**Sarah's POV**

This was bullshit.

Beeman, apparently, has a niece that is very powerful, and she looked so familiar, but she wouldn't show us her powers or admit that she had any, though she and I both know that she does. And Zak was being an idiot for getting so mesmerized by her that he doesn't see how dangerous she was.

"Somebody's jealous," Zack said.

"Oh, shut up," I said.

"He's right, Sarah," Mom said. "You're letting your emotions get the best of you."

"No, I'm not. I'm trying to protect Zak from that bitch who's hiding her true colors."

"Calling her a bitch just proves my point. And I don't think she means any harm to Zak, she just likes hanging out with him a lot."

"Yeah, so that she can take him from me, and Zak's allowing her to. I mean, we haven't spent any time alone together since she came into the picture."

"Sarah, you know Zak would never let anyone come between you two. And even if he is, it's only because you're making him."

"How the hell am I making him?" I asked.

"You haven't been treating her nicely at all because you're jealous. You're letting it get the best of you, and Zak doesn't like it," Mom replied. "That's how you're making him."

"Well, she's hitting on my boyfriend. I can't let her do that."

"You have to."

"What? No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"Why?"

"For two reasons: one, if Amber is hitting on Zak, and you're jealous about it, and you're treating her badly because of it, which you are, and Zak doesn't like you for doing that, you need to let her, or it's only going to make your relationship with Zak worse; and two, it's a way to prove to you the kind of person that Zak really is. How faithful he is of your relationship."

"Well, he doesn't seem to be that faithful of it," I said.

"Only because you don't trust him to be," Mom said. "The more you let your jealousy get the best of you, the more unfaithful to you he becomes, and that wouldn't exactly be his fault."

"Have you ever done that?"

"I've only had seven boyfriends in my whole life, and I don't think there was ever a time where a girl hit on him while we were dating—Well, except for that one time with Nick after we were married. I left him to deal with it, and it worked out well."

I turned toward Zack. "What about you?"

"There's been a few times, yes," he replied. "But I listened to what Mom told me, which was hard, but not impossible, and dealt with it. Selena didn't like the attention either, and she handled it as much as she could. When they took it too far, like by touching her, then I did something about it, but Selena didn't mind."

"Ok," I said. "But I think you're wrong about this, Mom. I know Amber from somewhere. I know that she is something, and whatever that is, I intend to find out. I need to make Zak see that she's not just an innocent girl. She's out to get him from me and maybe get rid of him if she does. I can't let that happen."

Mom sighed. "And I can't stop you. Well, I probably could, but it's best that you find this out on your own."

"Thank you."

Honestly, I had a sudden déjà vu moment there, though I didn't know what. Well, whatever it was, it doesn't matter now.

* * *

 **Zak's POV**

"Wow. That's beautiful, Zak," Amber said, amazed at the gold piece I was showing her for Sarah.

"Thanks," I said. "I hope she'll like it too. I've been thinking about giving her one for a while now, and I don't want to wait any longer."

"'Forever & Always'. You must really love her to want to spend the rest of your life with her already."

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. I just hope she feels the same way. In fact, I know she does."

"Who wouldn't about you? You're quite the catch." She bumped her shoulder against mine.

"Uh, thanks."

"Zak?" a voice called.

Sarah was watching us from across the room.

"Oh, hi, Sarah," I said, quickly shoving my gift for her in my pocket. "What's up?"

"We need to talk."

"Ok. About what?"

"Just come here." She left the room.

"Ok. I'll be right back."

"Ok," Amber said. "Take your time."

I followed Sarah all the way outside.

"Sarah, what's going on?" I asked when I reached her.

She took a deep breath and faced me with a disapproving look. "Zak, why are you being such an idiot?"

"What do you mean?"

"Amber is flirting with you, in front of me, and you're letting her. Do you really not see that she's out to get you?"

"What? No, she's not."

"Yes, she is. Zak, she knows that I don't like her and that I know that she's not human. She's trying to keep me from finding out what she really is."

"Maybe it's nothing you need to worry about."

"Oh, you mean like that she's taking my boyfriend away from me? Yeah, that is something I have to worry about."

"She's not taking me away from you, Sarah."

"Yes, she is, Zak. And you're being so stupid for falling for her innocent charm."

"Did you just call me stupid?"

"Yes, because that's how you're being. You're letting her use you to her advantage."

"She isn't using me for anything. And even if she was, I can't believe you don't trust me to handle her on my own."

"I do trust you, Zak."

"Really? Because you have a funny way of showing it. And I also can't believe that you would think that I would ever be so unfaithful to you."

"I don't think that at all."

"Well, apparently, you do. But I would never do anything like that to you. Ever. I'd kill myself first before I even think of doing any of that."

"I know, but—"

"No, you don't know," I said. "At least, not anymore."

"Zak, I didn't come here to argue with you," Sarah said.

"Then why did you come?"

"To warn you about Amber. She's bad news."

"Why?"

"I don't know yet, but—"

"Stop. You don't have any proof that she's 'bad news', and whatever is 'bad' about her, if there's anything at all, I'll find out on my own."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that—" I sighed. "Sarah, you obviously don't trust me anymore. You're overreacting about someone you hardly know at all, and because of that, I think we should break up."

As soon as I said that, I wanted to take it back, but I bit my tongue. Sarah had just taken it too far this time.

She looked heart-broken. "You want to break up?"

"Yes," I replied. "I'm sorry. But I can't take this anymore."

A tear streaked down her face. Then she teleported away without saying another word.

My heart felt like it was breaking apart. Literally. There was a lot of pain in my chest, but I didn't care. I couldn't help it any longer.

My pocket felt heavy. I pulled out the ring and looked down at it.

 _Forever & Always_.

Not anymore. I went outside to the edge of the cliff and threw it as far as I could into the ocean. My relationship with Sarah was over.

* * *

 **Aww. They broke up again, but Sarah had that coming. What do you guys think that gold piece was that Zak was going to give to Sarah, and do you think she's right about Amber?**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	73. Nightingale

**Sarah's POV**

I was lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, crying my eyes out, wondering how this happened.

It's been three days, and not a single call from Zak. It really was over between us, but I didn't want it to be. It was all that bitch, Amber's, fault.

God, you think I'd be done crying by now, or at least dried my eyes out, but no. I'm still crying. I haven't even gotten any sleep since then. My family will never admit it to me, but I know they all think it was my fault that Zak broke up with me. Well, screw them. Screw them all.

I really miss Zak.

Well, if I won't get to sleep, then I guess I'll go play a new song. I got out of bed, but as soon as I did, I clutched my heart. Ever since Zak and I broke up, it's been really hurting like I was having a heart attack, which I probably was.

I managed to get to the music room and sat at my piano. I placed my fingers on the keys and started playing:

I can't sleep tonight  
Wide awake and so confused  
Everything's in line  
But I am bruised  
I need a voice to echo  
I need a light to take me home  
I kinda need a hero  
Is it you?

I never see the forest for the trees  
I could really use your melody  
Baby I'm a little blind  
I think it's time for you to find me

Can you be my nightingale?  
Sing to me  
I know you're there  
You could be my sanity  
But bring me peace  
Sing me to sleep  
Say you'll be my nightingale

Somebody speak to me  
Cause I'm feeling like hell  
Need you to answer me  
I'm overwhelmed  
I need a voice to echo  
I need a light to take me home  
I need a star to follow  
I don't know

I never see the forest for the trees  
I could really use your melody  
Baby I'm a little blind  
I think it's time for you to find me

Can you be my nightingale?  
Sing to me  
I know you're there  
You could be my sanity  
But bring me peace  
Sing me to sleep  
Say you'll be my nightingale

I don't know what I'd do without you  
Your words are like a whisper cutting through  
As long as you are with me here tonight  
I'm good

Can you be my nightingale?  
Feels so close  
I know you're there  
Oh, nightingale  
You sing to me  
I know you're there  
'Cause baby you're my sanity  
You bring me peace  
Sing me to sleep  
Say you'll be my nightingale

Oh  
Mm, mm  
Mm

After I finished the song, I felt a little better. I think it motivated me enough to try and patch things up with Zak. But it was late.

I went back to my room, lied down on my bed, and waited until the morning.

* * *

 **Zak's POV**

I was feeling like crap. I thought I'd be over it by now, but how can I get over it quickly when we were together for three years?

"Here. I got you some ice cream," Amber offered. "It'll cheer you up, I hope."

"Actually, it won't," I said.

"Why?"

"Because whenever I have ice cream, it reminds me of my very first kiss with Sarah. We were sharing a bowl of ice cream when it happened."

"Oh. Then, yeah, it won't cheer you up. Oh well. More for me."

She sat down next to me on the couch and started eating it with a spoon.

I laughed. "You're cute."

I don't know why I just told her that, but she took it lightly.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself. But can I be honest with you?"

"Of course you can."

"I can't help but feel partly guilty for your break up with Sarah."

"Why?"

"Well, I overheard your argument with her."

"How? We were outside."

"Not important right now. But I know it was about me."

"It wasn't your fault, Amber. Sarah crossed a line, and I couldn't stand it any longer."

"And yet, you can't stop thinking about her."

"I can."

"Are you thinking about her right now?"

"Well, we're talking about her right now, so yeah."

"What about before I brought her up?"

"No," I said.

"What were you thinking about?" Amber asked.

"You."

She blushed. "Oh."

She turned away from me and became interested in her ice cream, taking another bite out of it.

"Amber," I said.

She faced me. "Hmm?"

I leaned in and kissed her. It took her a moment to register to it. She kissed me back, but then she dropped her ice cream.

"Oh, Zak," she said.

"Leave it," I insisted.

"What?"

"Leave it. Komodo will probably eat it later."

"What? No! I'm not wasting perfectly good ice cream."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"You're weird."

"You're just now realizing that?"

I laughed.

I could tell she was nervous. It made me wonder if she's ever been in a situation like this before.

"Zak?"

I was surprised to hear whose voice that was. "Sarah? What are you doing here?"

She was standing a few feet away. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "I'm here because I miss you. And I want you back."

"I—I don't know what to say," I said.

"Say that you'll take me back and we can forget this whole thing ever happened. Will you say that?"

I looked at Amber, who was really nervous sitting right next to me.

"That depends," I said. "Will you take back what you said about Amber?"

"What?" Sarah asked.

"You heard me."

"I . . . I—"

"Sarah."

She sighed. "No. No, I won't."

"Then, I'm sorry." I grabbed Amber's hand. "I can't take you back."

Sarah looked really hurt, even more at the sight of me holding Amber's hand. "I understand." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Goodbye, Zak."

She teleported out of the room.

"That was kind of cold," Amber told me, pulling her hand out of mine. "But are you sure you wanna do this, Zak?"

"Do you like me?" I asked.

"What?"

"Do you like me?"

"Yes."

"Then, yeah. I'm sure."

I kissed her again. The more I did, the more my heart hurt.

But I didn't care.

* * *

 **Aww. Neither of them are taking this well. And that was cold what Zak did, but I guess Sarah had it coming. And she has even worse coming for her.**

 **Anyway, quiz time!**

 _What was the name of the song that Sarah sang, and who sings it?_

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	74. Shouldn't Come Back

**Sarah's POV**

This was the worst day of my life.

Zak didn't take me back and chose Amber over me. I hate that bitch. I'm not going to go on a murderous rampage like I've seen girls do on TV when their boyfriends leave them for some other girl. No. But I am on a crying rampage, because I just can't seem to stop.

My heart felt like it was literally broken in half, because it hurt so much. It probably was, but how was I still breathing? I wish I wasn't.

The necklace that Zak gave me was burning around my neck. I ripped it off and threw it across the room. I felt like stomping on it, but I didn't have the heart to do so.

 _Forever and Always_.

Yeah, right.

The best way for me to express my feelings about anything is through music. I sat at my piano and began playing:

Once upon a time  
I believe it was a Tuesday when I caught your eye  
And we caught onto something  
I hold onto the night  
You looked me in the eye and told me you loved me  
Were you just kidding cause it seems to me  
This thing is breaking down, we almost never speak  
I don't feel welcome anymore  
Baby, what happened, please tell me  
Cause one second it was perfect  
Now you're half way out the door

And I stare at the phone  
He still hasn't called  
And then you feel so low  
You can't feel nothing at all  
And you flashback to  
When he said forever and always  
Oh, and it rains in your bedroom  
Everything is wrong  
It rains when you're here  
And it rains when you're gone  
I was there when you said forever and always

Was I out of line?  
Did I say something way too honest?  
Made you run and hide like a scared little boy  
I looked into your eyes  
Thought I knew you for a minute now I'm not so sure  
So here's to everything coming down to nothing  
Here's to silence that cuts me to the core  
Where is this going?  
Thought I knew for a minute but I don't anymore

And I stare at the phone  
He still hasn't called  
And then you feel so low  
You can't feel nothing at all  
And you flashback to  
When he said forever and always  
And it rains in your bedroom  
Everything is wrong  
It rains when you're here  
And it rains when you're gone  
I was there when you said forever and always

You didn't mean it baby  
I don't think so, oh oh oh  
Back up, baby back up  
Did you forget everything?  
Back up, baby back up  
Did you forget everything?

Back up, baby back up  
Please back up, oh back up  
Back up, baby back up

Cause it rains in your bedroom  
Everything is wrong  
It rains when you're here  
And it rains when you're gone  
I was there when you said forever and always

And I stare at the phone  
He still hasn't called  
And then you feel so low  
You can't feel nothing at all  
And you flashback to  
When we said forever and always  
Cause it rains in your bedroom  
Everything is wrong  
It rains when you're here  
And it rains when you're gone  
I was there when you said forever and always

You didn't mean it baby  
You said forever and always, yeah

The song made me feel better, like it always does, but it made me cry more. Does that prove that it made me feel better? Probably not, but whatever.

"That was nice, but I think that other song would sound better."

I turned around to find a man, whom I've never seen before, holding my guitar. I thought I was in here alone. I usually was.

He had black hair and blue eyes and was dressed casually.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I asked.

"Never mind who I am," he replied. "But what I want is you."

"Me? For what?"

He held out my guitar to me. "For you to play that other song. It fits the situation better than that other one."

"Ok." I approached him.

I could feel a power surging from him. A strong one. My instincts told me to run, but it was nearly impossible for me to turn down a request for a song.

I grabbed my guitar out of his hand and sat down on the couch. He sat next to me.

I adjusted my guitar and started playing:

See you calling again  
I don't wanna pick up, no, oh  
I've been laying in bed  
Probably thinking too much, oh, oh

Sorry I'm not sorry for the times  
I don't reply, you know the reason why

Maybe you shouldn't come back  
Maybe you shouldn't come back to me  
Tired of being so sad,  
Tired of getting so mad, baby  
Stop right now,  
You'll only let me down, oh, oh  
Maybe you shouldn't come back  
Maybe you shouldn't come back to me

Trying not to forget,  
Should be easier than this oh, oh  
And all the birthdays you've missed  
I was only a kid oh, oh

Sorry I'm not sorry for the times  
I don't reply, you know the reason why

Maybe you shouldn't come back  
Maybe you shouldn't come back to me  
Tired of being so sad,  
Tired of getting so mad, baby  
Stop right now,  
You'll only let me down, oh, oh  
Maybe you shouldn't come back  
Maybe you shouldn't come back to me  
To me

Sorry I'm not sorry for the times

Maybe you shouldn't come back  
Maybe you shouldn't come back to me  
Tired of being so sad,  
I'm tired of getting so mad, baby  
Stop right now,  
You'll only let me down, oh, oh  
Maybe you shouldn't come back  
Maybe you shouldn't come back to me  
Maybe you shouldn't come back to me

After I finished the song, the man clapped.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "That was better."

I smiled. "Thank you. But, uh, are you an Immortal?"

"Maybe." To demonstrate, he summoned fire to his hands.

"Ok. But why are you here?"

"To help you," he replied.

"To help me? Who are you, my fairy godfather?"

"I'd prefer guardian angel."

"Ok. But what are you here to help me with?"

"I understand what it feels like to be rejected by someone you love."

"Oh." I avoided his gaze. "You do?"

In the corner of my eye, he nodded. "More than you know."

"Well, of course. I don't even know your name."

"And it's not important right now. What is important is that we help you through this break up?"

"We?"

"You and myself. We."

"Ok. How?"

In response to my question, he leaned in and started kissing my neck.

That caught me a little off-guard, but I let him continue to do so.

I turned my head and caught his lips. They were dry and lustful. He adjusted me on top of him. Then we soul kissed. After a little while, he started to lift my shirt.

That's when I stopped him. "Wait. I don't want to do this."

"Yes, you do," the man insisted.

"No, I don't."

"Well, you don't really have a choice."

I pulled away, but he held me tight.

When I looked into his eyes, I could see how full of lust they were and I realized what a big mistake I made and that I was in serious trouble.

I tried to break out of his grip, but he just held me tighter and tighter. Then he threw me down on to the floor and climbed on top of me. I struggled to get free, but it was no use. He was too strong for me. I tried my powers.

"Don't bother," the man said. "Your powers are no match for me."

He was probably right, but that didn't stop me.

I kept fighting back.

He ripped off my shirt, leaving me bare, and began working on my pants with one hand while holding his other across my shoulders to keep me down and cup one of my breasts, but I managed to hit him with my knee.

"You're as feisty as your mother," he said. "But she wasn't strong enough to fight off me and my boys. Too bad they're not here now to hold you still."

"My mother?" I asked.

Then it hit me: an Immortal man. _Three_ Immortal men.

"Oh my God." I could hardly speak.

I'm experiencing what my mother went through over eighty years ago.

"If you won't stay still," the man said. "Then you leave me no choice."

He held my legs down with his knees and my arms with his hand above my head. He summoned a pair of handcuffs to his other hand, put it on my wrist, wrapped it around the couch's leg, and put the other one on my other wrist. Then he summoned a gag and wrapped it around my mouth, though I didn't make it easy for him.

"There."

He caressed my cheek, then down my bare chest and stopped and the hem of my pants. He pulled them off, along with my underwear. Now I was completely nude, and there was nothing I could do about it.

He also took off his own pants and underwear. I tried not to look at his member, but I never really have a chance to before he thrusted it into me.

I screamed in pain. But with the gag in my mouth, no one could hear it. I cried. It's hard to imagine that death was worse than this: being held against your will.

He continued to thrust in and out of me for who-knows-how long. Minutes? Hours? I couldn't tell. The more he did it, the more it hurt, and the more I cried.

God, I can't believe my mom and my twin brother could go through something like this and stay strong. I, myself, couldn't bare it. And it was all my fault that it was happening to me.

 _No, it's not._

I opened my eyes, feeling over-joyed. _Nick?_

Suddenly, the man on top of me was thrown across the room by an invisible force. He landed on my piano, breaking it to pieces, which I didn't care about at the moment.

Then he appeared. He grabbed the man and pushed him up against the wall, putting his arms behind his back and cuffing them with black handcuffs. Then he threw him down on the floor.

He turned back toward me and came close, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Are you ok, Sarah?"

I didn't answer, mostly because I still had the gag in my mouth.

"Right. Spike!"

A German Shepherd appeared above me—Spike, I assumed—and he chomped off my cuffs and pulled out my gag with his jaw.

I slowly brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I was too shocked to speak.

"Get dressed if you can," Nick told me. "I'll call your family down."

He went to the intercom and pressed the button. After calling my family, he grabbed his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. "Nikki? I need you to come meet me at Raylee's house now. Bring everyone with you."

He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

Then he walked back toward me, but this time keeping a respectful distance. "Do you mind if I help you get dressed?"

I nodded.

I know he just saved me and all, but I was naked and feeling very self-conscious.

"I understand. Your mother should be here—"

"Sarah?" she called.

She ran into the room followed by everyone else.

She ran to me, but stopped when she noticed Nick. "Oh my God. Nick?"

"Hi, Raylee," he said.

He was hiding it, but I could tell how happy he was to see her.

"Sarah!" Zack called. He ran to me. "Oh, God. What happened to you?"

In response to the question, the animals were growling at the half-naked man. Mom noticed him too.

She looked from him to me and back. "Oh my God. He raped her, didn't he?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah."

"Zack, can you get her some clothes?" Dad asked.

"I got it," Mom said.

She summoned a robe to her hands and put it on me. After doing so, Zack held me.

"Nick," a woman's voice called.

Nikki appeared at the doorway along with her sister, Nicole. I hadn't seen them in almost three years. My older half-siblings were also with them.

"Dad, what's—oh," one of my half-sisters said, then noticing us. "Hi, Mom."

"Hey, Kiara," she replied. "It's nice to see you again."

Kiara. Then, I assumed, that the other one was Madison.

"You caught him," Nicole said, gesturing to the half-naked man.

"Yes," Nick said. "But he already did his damage."

Everyone looked at me. I turned away, ashamed.

"We should test her," Mom said. "We need to make sure she's not pregnant like I was."

She looked at my half-brother, Alex, and kind of gave him an apologetic look.

"Not yet, Raylee," Nick said. "You of all people should know that she needs to recuperate first."

"He's right, Mom," Zack agreed.

He would know that too.

Mom nodded. Then she turned toward the half-naked man with a murderous look on her face. "You asshole. Can I kill him?"

"I want to kill him as much as you do, Raylee," Nick said. "Especially for what he did to you and your children. But we can't. Not yet, anyway. He could help us find the others."

"Were they here?" Nikki asked.

"No. Just him."

"I thought they were like a group," Mom said.

"They are."

"Then why is only he here?" Madison asked.

"Let's ask him."

"Wait," Mom said. She used her powers to put clothes on the no-longer-half-naked-man. "I just could not look at him any longer."

Nick chuckled. Then he approached the man and grabbed him. "Where are the others, Leonardo? Why were you the only one who came?"

"Yeah, and no bullshit," Mom said.

Leonardo sighed. "I guess I have no choice since you caught me. Alexander and Lucifer didn't want to help me rape Sarah."

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Because we knew you were watching over her and her family 24/7."

"You were?" Mom asked.

"It's not important, Raylee," Nick said. "Why did you come, Leonardo?"

"Because I wanted to rape her. It was our custom to do that to our victims offspring. But they knew it would give you a chance to catch us."

"You should've listened to them."

"I know. But I knew that you didn't watch them while they were sleeping, so I took the chance. I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

"I felt like something was amiss and I was right. Where are Alexander and Lucifer?"

"I'm not telling you that."

"You will eventually."

"We'll take him, Nick," Nikki said.

"Ok. Make sure he's well locked up."

"We will."

Nicole grabbed him and she and Nikki teleported with him.

"Well, at least you got one of them," Mom said.

"Yeah," Nick agreed. "And I hate to admit it, but he was smart to target Sarah after she had just gone through a rough break up."

"Yeah."

That made me cry.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" Zack asked. "Are you still hurting?"

"No," I replied. "Well, yes, but that's not it."

"Then what?"

"It was my fault that I got raped."

"No it wasn't, Sarah," Nick said.

"How do you know? Were you watching?"

"Well, no. Once I got here, he already had you overpowered. But if I was here before that, I wouldn't have let him get close enough to touch you."

"I did."

"What do you mean?" Mom asked.

"The rape was almost statutory rape."

"Again, what do you mean?"

I told them the whole story, feeling so ashamed when I finished.

Mom comforted me. "It's ok, Sarah. He took advantage of your vulnerability. That wasn't your fault."

"Then why do I feel so guilty?" I asked.

"Maybe it's not _him_ you're feeling guilty about."

I took her words to heart, and my heart started literally hurting. I think she was right, but I didn't say anything.

She turned her focus from me, anyway, and turned to Nick. "How are you alive?"

"Narma brought me back thirteen years ago," he replied.

"Thirteen years ago? Why the fuck did she wait so long?"

"To cause some drama between us."

"Drama? What drama?"

He gestured to Dad.

"Oh. But why didn't you ever come see me before now?"

"I wanted to, more than anything, but I didn't want to make her dream come true and cause that drama for you."

"I wouldn't have cared. I just wanted you back."

"So do I."

Dad was looking uncomfortable now. Mom noticed, and seemed to feel bad about it.

I decided to change the subject a little bit. "Mom, Nick saved Zack from those men a couple years ago."

"You did?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"He's actually the one that found out where he was," Madison said.

"Thank you, Nick," Mom said. "For saving my son then, and my daughter now."

"I technically didn't save them," he said. "They were already tortured."

"Well, you saved them from being tortured more by them."

"Yeah. I have more to tell you about that, but I should go now. I'll come back later and then we can talk."

Mom nodded. "Ok."

He teleported away.

Mom turned toward me and Zack. "Why didn't you two tell me about him?"

"He sort of threatened us if we did," Zack replied.

She sighed. "He really didn't want me to know, did he?"

"No," Alex replied. "But we'll talk about that later. Right now, Sarah needs to recover."

"You're right."

And the attention focused back on me.

I'll probably recover from this physically, but I doubt mentally. This was now the second biggest mistake I have ever made in my whole life. The first was losing Zak.

* * *

 **Well, that was intense. What do you guys think about it?**

 **That answer to my last quiz was:** _Nightingale, by Demi Lovato._

 **Can you guess the two songs Sarah sang in this chapter?**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	75. I Almost Take It Too Far

**Zak's POV**

Amber and I were lying on my bed, trying to shoot popcorn into each other's mouth. It was her turn, and she kept throwing it too high or too low, missing every time. I tried to catch it when she did that, but I couldn't.

"Are you even trying?" I asked.

"Of course I am," she replied. "You just suck at catching things with your mouth."

"I'm not the one who has to catch it. You have to make it in order to get a point."

"I do?"

"Yes. What do you think I was doing?"

"I thought you were just going easy on me and that we had to catch it in our mouths to get a point."

"Well, no. It's the opposite."

"Then why were you trying to catch it in your mouth?"

"Because I was trying to help you, and I'm a little hungry."

"Oh. Oh well. Can I try one more time?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Open your mouth and close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Ok."

I did what she told me and closed my eyes and opened my mouth.

I felt her shifting on the bed. A moment later, I felt the popcorn in my mouth along with her tongue and then her lips.

She pulled away and I opened my eyes, smiling. "Well, that's one way to get food in someone's mouth."

Amber laughed. "Why yes that is."

"Ok. Enough with the popcorn now."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I think you know."

She eyed me suspiciously. "No. But I'm intrigued."

I smiled and kissed her. Then I laid her down on the bed with me on top.

"How far do you wanna go?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

I started kissing her neck. "How far do you wanna go?"

I tugged on the hem of her shirt.

Then she understood what I meant. "Oh. Are you sure you want to do this, Zak? We've only been together a few weeks."

"I'm sure," I replied. "Are you?"

She considered it for a moment, then nodded.

I kissed her, then I went down to her neck. I lifted her shirt off of her and threw it to the side, leaving the top half of her just in her bra. For now.

I kissed her bare stomach. She moaned.

My heart was hurting like crazy, but I didn't let it stop me.

I kissed her chest, her neck, and ended on her lips. She tugged on my shirt. I helped her take it off. After doing so, she ran her hand across my bare chest.

I kissed her again. Then I worked on her pants. I took them off, leaving her in her underwear. She sat up on the bed and unbuckled my pants. I took them off, leaving myself in my boxers. She ran her hand over my forearm up to my neck, tilting my head toward her and kissed me. I kissed down her jawline and her chest. She moaned the whole time.

I smiled against her skin. "I love you, Sarah." Then went back to gently kissing her bare skin.

Amber stopped moaning. "Zak, stop."

"What? Why?"

"Because you just called me Sarah."

I pulled away from her and looked at her. "What? No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did," she insisted.

I thought about it for a moment and realized I did.

I pulled away, breathing harder than usual, and I sat on the edge of my bed and put my face in my hands. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Zak," Amber said, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "You were with her for three years, and you two only broke up almost a month ago. You can't get over someone you loved for a long time so soon. I would be concerned for you if you did. But, honestly Zak, I don't think you want to get over her at all. I think you're just using me to get at her."

I looked at her. "Am I really doing that?"

"On purpose? No. Just automatically. And it's seemed to work."

"I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. But I want you to tell me what you're thinking right now."

"I'm thinking about Sarah and how much I love her. That I can't be without her."

I looked at Amber. She didn't look hurt at all like I expected. She was actually smiling, like she was glad that I loved someone other than her. "Then I think you know what you should do."

I kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you, Amber."

"You're welcome. Now go."

I stood up from the bed and walked toward the door.

"Uh, Zak?" Amber called.

I turned toward her. "Yeah?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

I was confused by what she was referring to.

She gestured downward.

I looked down at myself and realized that I was still in my boxers. "Oh. Right."

Amber laughed.

We got dressed and I ran outside, all the way toward the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean.

I looked down at myself and realized that I was still in my boxers. "Oh. Right."

"I have to find that ring and give it to Sarah," I replied.

"You don't have to."

"What? Yes, I do."

"No. I mean, you don't have to go find it, because I already did for you."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring, handing it to me.

I was surprised. "How . . . ? When—"

"It doesn't matter," she said. "Just take it and go find Sarah."

I grabbed it and put it in my pocket. "Thank you, again, Amber. You're helping me even though I'm choosing her over you."

"No, you're not. She already has you, and you already have her. That never changed, and I hope it never will. I know true love when I see it, and that's definitely what you and Sarah have. I don't want to be the reason it didn't work out between you two."

"And you won't be. Thanks again."

I ran back to my house. I asked my parents if I could borrow the griffin. They, of course, said yes, though not without a reason why first.

I climbed into it, turned it on, and headed off to find the girl I love.

* * *

 **Aww. Zak's going to make up with Sarah. And Amber supports it, which may be a little surprising.**

 **Also, the two songs that Sarah sang yesterday were:** _Forever & Always, by Taylor Swift (the piano version), _**and** _Shouldn't Come Back, by Demi Lovato_ **.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	76. Never Been Hurt

**Sarah's POV**

Well, I've got some good news: I'm not pregnant. The bad news, though, I still feel guilty about it.

It's been three weeks since that night. During that time, I've been hanging out and getting to know my half-sisters, Madison and Kiara. We connected great.

Madison actually understood why I feel so guilty about what happened to me. When she was my age, she fell for a guy who eventually sexually abused and raped her and Kiara with his friends. As a result of that, our mom killed all of those boys, not leaving one alive, and Madison and Kiara were homeschooled from that point on. But neither of them ever dated again for fear that they would become so dedicated to a guy to allow him to do something like that to them again. Madison has also never forgiven herself for her sister being victimized like that with her because of her own mistake. I wouldn't have either if it was Emily.

Right now, I was with my mom and half-sisters in the kitchen. We just made cupcakes and were now frosting them.

"So, how's it going with you and Nick?" I asked. "And Dad?"

"Uh . . . ok," Mom replied. "For now."

"Despite some of the restraints, I haven't seen Dad so happy since before he died," Madison said.

"I can tell."

Nick had wanted her back as his wife. Mom wanted him back too, but she couldn't just leave my dad like that. She loved him too. So, after a week-long debate with herself over who she would go with, she kind of chose them both.

She would stay married to my dad and she and Nick would be friends like they were the first ten years they knew each other before finally becoming an official couple. But they do get to be overfriendly with each other.

Mom claims that it would just be kissing, but we all could tell that it would be more than that sometimes.

"I think your father is threatened by him," Mom told me.

"That's not surprising," I said. "I mean, he was your husband first, and you told all of us, even Dad, that you could never love someone more, or even come close to loving someone as much as you love Nick."

"And it's true."

We continued to frost the cupcakes.

Then Nick appeared. Again.

"Hey, girls," he greeted.

"Hey," we greeted back.

He gave Mom a kiss on the cheek and sat down next to her.

"Can I have one?" he asked.

"Yeah," Mom replied, and handed him a cupcake.

"You're here everyday," I said. "Literally. At least, until Dad gets home from work. But you still stick around a little while afterwards. Why?"

"He's always done that, Sarah," Mom said. "Ever since we've met."

"He's with you for hours on end everyday?"

"Yes."

"Do you ever try to get away from him?"

"Well, we didn't really like each other that much when we met, so yeah. I would try to use my job to get away from him. But we became friends, and I didn't care anymore."

"But you needed your space."

"Sometimes, maybe. But back then, Nick was the only person I actually liked and didn't mind his attention 24/7. Especially when I started having a crush on him. I mean, who wants space from someone they have a crush on?"

"Not you, apparently. Uh, can you do the rest? I feel like getting some fresh air."

"But it's raining."

"I know. I'll bring an umbrella and I'll be at the park."

"Uh, ok."

"I think I'm going to get out of here too," Kiara said. "As much as I love seeing you two somewhat back together, it's gotten annoying already."

"I'll join you as soon as I'm done frosting these," Madison said.

"Yeah, I guess I'll help you finish."

Mom and Nick laughed.

I stood up from my seat, went to get my umbrella, and headed to the park.

* * *

It was raining hard, though not too hard, but it was windy.

I went to the bridge that went across the river, sat down on it, and watched the heavy flow of the currents.

Seeing my mom and Nick together like that reminded me of Zak and of my guilt for it. It's been almost a month now since we broke up, and with everyday that passes, my heart just hurts more and more, reminding me that it's my fault.

But I still felt like Amber was up to no good. And, until I think otherwise of her, there's no way we'll ever get back together.

"Sarah!"

I turned in the direction from where that came from, and I couldn't believe who I saw.

Zak.

He was standing about thirty feet away and was soaking wet, but the droplets in his hair made him look so cute, and he appeared to be out of breath. Did he run all the way here? It didn't matter. I was just so glad to see him.

"I'm sorry," he said. "For everything. I love you and I want you back."

I smiled. Even if he said nothing, I still would've done what I did next.

I dropped my umbrella and ran to him. When I reached him, I wrapped my arms around his neck, he wrapped his arms around me, picked me up, and spun me around once. Then we kissed, a soft, warm, passionate kiss. People were right: kissing in the rain really was romantic.

"I really missed you," Zak said.

"So did I," I replied.

"I have something for you."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I've been wanting to give it to you for a long time."

He reached into his pocket, grabbed something out of it, and showed it to me. It was a gold ring, and on the outside of it, there were words carved into it: Forever & Always.

"Oh, Zak," I said.

"It's a promise ring," he said. "A promise that we'll get married and stay together through anything, both good and bad, forever—"

"And always."

We smiled. Then he put the ring on my left finger.

When I looked down at it, I had a sudden déjà vu, like I've seen this ring somewhere before, and I was wearing it. Well, whatever it was, it doesn't matter right now. I have my prince back.

We kissed one more time.

"Uh, we should probably get out of this rain now," Zak said. "Before we get ammonia."

"Actually, _you'll_ get ammonia," I said. "I'm immune to getting anything like that, remember? But you're right. Let's go."

Zak got my umbrella for me and we ran to my house.

* * *

After we got inside, we grabbed a couple towels and dried ourselves off. Then we went to my room and sat on my bed.

Zak told me about what happened with him and Amber. He was ashamed about it.

"It's ok, Zak," I assured him.

"It is?" he asked.

"Yes. We were broken up. But I've gotta say, I'm actually jealous of her."

"Why?"

"Because she got farther with you in three weeks than I have in three years."

"I'm not that happy about it. But do you want to be that far with me?"

"Well, after what I went through, I don't want to be that far with anyone, not even you, for a long time."

"What do you mean?"

I told him about my rape a few weeks ago.

"Oh," he said when I finished, then grabbed my hand. "I wish I was there."

"Me too," I said. "So, uh, about Amber. Did you find out what she was?"

"No."

He was trying to hide it, but I could tell he was mad at me for asking.

I sighed. "Go ahead. Say it. I deserve it."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I told you so."

"Oh. I'm not going to say that."

"But you're thinking it."

"I'll admit that, but I won't say."

I laughed and kissed him. "That's why I love you. But, since you were right about her, I should go apologize to her."

I stood up and was about to walk to my bedroom door when I noticed someone standing in front of it.

"Oh. Hi," I said.

My visionary daughter smiled at me.

"I haven't seen you in a while."

"Me neither," Zak agreed.

She gestured to me.

"What is it?" I asked her.

She gestured to my neck and made a circle.

I instantly knew what she was referring to. "Oh! Thank you for reminding me."

She smiled and walked out the door, waving goodbye and smiling, and she disappeared.

"Reminding you of what?" Zak asked.

"My necklace."

I ran out of the room and down to the music room.

* * *

I looked around the floor until I finally spotted it. I picked it up.

"On the night that guy raped me, I had ripped this off my neck and threw it across the floor," I explained to Zak. "I'm surprised it's still in one piece."

"Can I put it on you?" he asked.

"Sure."

I gave it to him and he put it on around my neck. As soon as he did, the amethyst started to glow.

I smiled. "Ok. Well, I should go see Amber now. Do you know where she lives?"

"Uh, no," Zak replied.

I sighed. "Well, do you have her on your contacts?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then can I borrow your phone?"

He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to me.

"Thank you."

I took it and dialed her number.

She answered. "Hey, Zak. How'd it go with Sarah?"

"It's me," I said.

"Oh. Hi, Sarah. May I ask why you're calling?"

"Can we talk? I want to apologize to you in person."

"Uh, ok. Where do you want to meet?"

"Can you come to my house?"

"Sure. Where do you live?"

I gave her directions, then I hung up.

I handed the phone back to Zak. "You know, I just realized something."

"What?" Zak asked.

"The argument I had with my mom a few weeks ago was just like the one I had with you during that first summer we met about Zon and that Duah. And I was you."

"Oh. But I was right."

"And I wasn't. Don't rub it in."

"Sarah," Mom called through the intercom. "Amber's here."

"Ok," I replied. "Send her down."

"She got here fast," Zak noted.

"Yes, she did. But can you leave us alone to talk? You can go hang out with Zack or something."

"Ok."

He gave me a kiss on the cheek and left the room.

Amber came in a few moments later, and I felt that power surging from her again.

"Hi," I greeted.

"Hi," she greeted back.

I gestured her over to the couch, and we both sat down.

"Listen, Amber," I said. "I'm really sorry about what I said about you and how I treated you."

"It's ok, Sarah. I understand why. You and Zak are perfect for each other, with all the history you have together. I couldn't get in the way of that."

"Really?"

"No."

"Huh. I guess Zak was right. You do support our relationship."

"He told you that?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He also said that you wish—"

I stopped, realizing something. I looked down at my new promise ring, and then at Amber, and I suddenly remembered where I've seen them before.

"What is it, Sarah?" Amber asked.

"This ring, and you," I said. "I once had a dream about you a couple years ago."

"A dream about me? Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It was an alternate universe in the future when Zak was twenty-five years old. You were with him, as his girlfriend, because I had died. He said that you were his comforter whenever he would dwell on having lost me, and you wished that our relationship didn't end the way it did, that he never lost me."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"I know. I guess some things from that dream is coming true."

"And you're alive to see it."

"Yeah. But, Amber, I really am sorry for how I treated you, especially now that I know that it's you from my dream."

"Like I said, I understand why, but no one likes a jealous girlfriend."

"I know. But no one also likes girls hitting on their boyfriends."

"Ok. I may have been hitting on Zak a little bit, but that's only because I couldn't help it. I'm not the kind of person who takes girls' boyfriends away from them."

"Really?"

"Yes. Though I really shouldn't be saying that since I've never really met a boy before Zak before."

"You haven't?" I asked.

Amber shook her head. "No. Well, at least, not in person."

"What do you mean?"

"I may not have had access to the real world before now, but I did have access to the Internet. A lot."

"Maybe that's why. You paid more attention to your social life then your real one."

"Actually, no. My uncle kept me and my mother from having a life outside of our house."

"Beeman? Why?"

She hesitated. She was clearly deciding whether or not she should tell me.

"Amber, I know you're not human exactly," I said. "I can feel it with my powers, and you know I can. You have a strong power radiating from you, about as strong as mine and my brother's. You hiding it and pretending that you're a full mortal makes me distrust you. I know that this is cliché, but whatever it is—whatever _you_ are—you can tell me."

She seemed to believe me.

Amber sat down on the couch and sighed. "I'm just like you, an Immortal. I can feel your power like you can feel mine."

"Are your parents also Immortals?" I asked.

"My mom? No. My dad? I don't know. I've never met him before, and I don't want to."

"Why?"

"Because he raped my mother, along with his friends, causing her to get pregnant with me and she had never met any of them before that night or have seen any of them since."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Me too."

 _Her father had raped her mother_ , I thought.

I took a closer look at her. She had blue eyes that looked familiar.

She noticed me staring. "What?"

"Do you know which of those men were your father?" I asked.

Amber shook her head. "No, and I don't care which one of them is my father. Why?"

"I think your father raped me a few weeks ago."

"What? He did? Are you sure it was my father? And are you ok?"

"You heard right. Yes, he did. Yes, I'm sure he's your father. And, yes, I'm fine. Even now that I have Zak back. But, yeah, I'm positive he was your father. You two have the same eyes. And, just like your mom, my mom was also raped by him and his friends over eighty years ago and also had gotten pregnant with my oldest half-brother. He also raped my brother a couple years ago."

"Did you get pregnant?" Amber asked.

I shook my head. "No."

"Good."

"Yeah. But, uh, I've noticed that you are quite skilled with your powers."

"Yeah. A man came and visited me and my mom when my uncle wasn't with us every once in a while and he taught me how to use my powers. I actually saw him with your mom when I arrived here."

"Nick?"

Amber nodded. "Yes. Is he your father?"

I shook my head. "No. Technically he's my step-father. But, damn, he sure gets around."

"But Nick told me that his wife went through what my mom went through and what you just told me about your mom, they sound like they're the same person."

"They are. My mom is his wife, but she's also my dad's wife. It's really complicated."

"Sounds like it is."

"Yeah. But, about your uncle, why did he keep you and your mother from having a real life?"

"Well, we discovered my powers a few years ago while I was having what I now know was a stupid argument with a girl. I was so angry that I used my powers that I didn't even know I had. After that, my uncle made me and my mom go into hiding until we—or he, actually—figured out what to do about it. Then I find out that he's been with the Saturdays who have been with you and your family for the past few years. That made me so mad with him. But Nick helped me through this secretly and taught me how to control my powers. He was like the father I never had, and he kind of was too."

"He probably learned that from my mom. She likes to treat kids, ones she doesn't dislike, like they're her own children. But, then again, he died before he raised his daughters with my mom, so maybe you gave him a chance as your father that was taken away from him with his daughters."

"Maybe."

"But your uncle is not a very good uncle. Of course, I could've told you that he wasn't going to be. I'll doubt he'll ever be a good father. But I'll be surprised if he ever becomes one someday."

Amber laughed. "I agree. From my experience, he's probably the worst uncle on the planet."

I laughed. "I like you. And I mean that."

"You do?"

"Yes. And if you want, I'll be your friend."

"You will?"

I nodded. "Yes."

She smiled widely. "Excuse me for acting like a totally crazy teenage girl for a moment, though I guess I kind of am one, but I've always wanted a friend. Especially someone who is like me. And I'm glad it's you."

I smiled. "Me too. It's nice to have something like that in common with a friend. But if you hit on my boyfriend again, we're no longer going to be friends."

She held up her hands. "Consider me warned. Now, would it be inappropriate if I hugged you?"

"Only if we were boys, which we're not, so come here."

She gave me a hug and I hugged her back.

"Hey, I just got an idea for a new song," I said. "Do you want to help me with it?"

"Sure," Amber replied. "Which reminds me: I listened to all of your albums. They're really great. Did you really write all of those songs?"

"Every last one."

"Wow. That is really impressive."

"Thank you. I even have them all in individual CD cases over there on that desk, and in alphabetical order if there are any songs in particular that you like to listen to."

"Awesome."

"Yeah. Now let's write a song together."

It didn't take long for us to write that song, though it usually doesn't for me. After writing the lyrics, I called down Selena and Zack to help me with the music. That didn't take long either.

There was still plenty of hours left in the day, so we called my family down, along with Zak, to come and listen to my new song. Since Amber helped me write it, I had her backup sing with Selena.

We positioned ourselves like we were on a real stage. The music started, and I began to sing:

I fell picture perfect  
On and off a shelf to a broken frame of mind, a broken frame of mind  
It comes back and haunts me  
A bullet undercover, it fooled me every time, it fooled me every time

But even if I lose it all  
I've got so much left to give, I won't give up, no, no  
My heart's on the front-line, I'm not afraid

I will love you  
Like I've never been hurt  
Run through fire for you  
Like I've never been burned.  
I'm gonna risk it all like I've never lost  
Gonna give it all I've got  
I will love you,  
I will love like I've never been hurt, never been hurt

You set fire to ashes  
You fought through the darkness and brought me back to life, you brought me back to life

So even if I lose it all  
I got so much left to give, I won't give up, no, no  
My heart's on the front-line, I'm not afraid

I will love you,  
Like I've never been hurt  
Run through fire for you,  
Like I've never been burned  
I'm gonna risk it all like I've never lost  
Gonna give it all I've got  
I will love you,  
I will love like I've never been hurt, never been hurt

I will love you and forever  
I will love you like I never  
Like I never heard goodbye  
Like I never heard a lie  
Like I'm falling into love for the first time  
Yeah

I will love you,  
Like I've never been hurt  
Run through fire for you,  
Like I've never been burned  
I'm gonna risk it all like I've never lost  
Gonna give it all I've got  
I will love you,  
I will love like I've never been hurt, never been hurt

After I finished the song, my family clapped. I bowed to them. Zak gave me a kiss. And I gave Amber a high-five and a hug.

Today I got my boyfriend back and he gave me a promise ring. A promise to keep ourselves strong and pure and to make it even more stronger with the years to come. I also got a new friend today.

This was now, officially, the best day in my whole life so far. And I couldn't be more happier.

* * *

 **Aww. Sarah and Zak made up. Sarah and Amber even became friends. They even share a few things in common.**

 **Quiz time!**

 _What was the name of the song that Sarah and Amber wrote together, and who sings it?_

 **There's going to be a bit of another time-skip in the next chapter.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	77. I Get Jealous of Zack and Selena

**Sarah's POV**

I hate Sex-Ed class. It's just embarrassing and disgusting. Zack and Selena agree.

Our parents put us in this class since we're now at that age. My mom actually didn't want me and Zack to be in this class at all, but Dad put us in it without her consent. She didn't like that, but Dad back fired to her that she has us do things without his consent on it. Mom couldn't deny that. She wanted to, but she knew she couldn't.

After that, she told me that that's why she sometimes wishes parentage was a one-person job. It is in some cases, which she's had with Madison and Kiara, since Nick had died, but she told me that it wouldn't have been different if he was alive then because he knew how my mom was long before they became a couple. He pretty much let her do whatever she wanted. But, unfortunately for my mom now, not in this case with us. That's why I can tell that my mom likes Nick more than my dad.

Anyway, in the class, the teacher was saying a lot of crap and the students would respond to some of the things that she said.

Zack, Selena, and I were sitting in the far back, trying to pretend we weren't there. I was listening to some music on my phone with one ear, which I don't usually do, and listening to the teacher with the other.

"Class," she said. "By a show of hands, how many of you have had sex before?"

Everyone in the room raised their hands, except me.

I wasn't afraid to admit that I was still a virgin. I take it with dignity and honor. I know that I was raped last year, which I still dwell about sometimes, but that doesn't exactly count.

I rolled my eyes, slumped back into my chair, and began listening to another song, until I noticed that _everyone_ raised their hands, including Zack and Selena.

I stared at them.

They were trying to avoid my gaze, but it didn't work. They looked kind of ashamed about it, or was that my imagination? They probably didn't like that I just found out about it. They could've avoided it if they just kept their hands down. But I guess I had to find out sooner or later.

"We'll talk later," Selena whispered to me.

"You're damn right we will," I whispered back.

* * *

After Sex-Ed finished, I dragged Zack and Selena all the way to the park.

"You two have had sex before?" I asked them.

They nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should we have?" Zack asked.

"I—I don't know. Maybe because I'm your sister and you're my best friend."

"Sarah, best friends don't have to tell each other everything," Selena said. "And this is personal."

"Ok. But I'm not sure which question I should ask next: When did you two have sex, or how many times?"

They glanced at each other.

"I suggest 'When?'" Zack said.

"Since you suggest that, I'm going to ask how many times," I said.

They both sighed.

"Umm, estimated, ten times," Selena said.

"Ten times?" I asked. "How often?"

"Once a week. Sometimes twice."

"Like our parents."

"Sarah, we're in love, and that makes our love stronger. You and Zak haven't been intimate yet?"

I shook my head. "No."

"How come?"

I turned away from them with a pained look on my face.

"Oh," Selena said. "Zack, do you mind leaving Sarah and me alone for a moment?"

"Of course not," he replied. "I'll be at home."

"Ok."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked off.

I sat at one of the swings and Selena sat at the one next to me.

"Sarah, why haven't you and Zak been intimate?" she asked.

"I think you know why," I replied.

"No, I don't."

I sighed. "I'm afraid to."

"Oh. I understand that the first time is hard, but—"

"That's not why I'm afraid."

"Then why?"

"Because I was raped, Selena. When someone's first sexual experience is a rape, it's hard to be in any after that. Even if it's consensual. And Zack was too. How was he able to be intimate with you after what he's been through?"

"It wasn't easy, but he was able to push that aside and just focus on me and him. But I understood it if he couldn't. Has Zak tried to get you to do that?"

"No. He wouldn't do that. At least, not on purpose."

"What do you mean?"

"For the past year, ever since we got back together, whenever we would make out, he would lift my shirt up a little bit, but he would catch himself quickly and put it back down, so it's really just an automatic thing he's been doing."

"Didn't he almost have sex with Amber?" Selena asked.

"Yeah. Thank you for reminding me of that," I said sarcastically.

"Sorry. But maybe he wants to do that with you, but is afraid of what you'll do and/or say."

"You really think so?"

"Yes. What would you do and/or say to him if he wanted to do that?"

"I don't know."

"Would you do it?"

"I don't know. Ask me again when I'm actually in that situation. But, uh, out of curiosity, what did it feel like?"

Selena couldn't contain her smile. "It felt amazing, Sarah. But I'm surprised that you're asking me that since it was with your brother."

"Yeah. I was trying to forget that part. But did it really feel that good?"

"Too good to describe."

"Right." I stood up from my swing.

"Where are you doing?" Selena asked.

"To see Zak," I replied. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Ok. See ya."

I teleported to the Saturday's home.

* * *

Zak and I hung out for a while with his cryptids, then we went to his room to relax and have our own special alone time together.

"Is your star getting smaller?" I asked, noticing it.

"My what?" Zak asked.

"Your star. That white part of your hair. It looks like a floppy star, and it looks like it's getting smaller."

"Oh. Yeah, it is. I think my hair's going to be all black. No more white."

"Ah. And it use to make you look so cute."

"Cuter than you?"

"Maybe."

"I doubt that anything is cuter than you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Or more beautiful."

I giggled.

We kissed. Then we soul kissed. Passionately. After a little while of kissing, Zak started lifting my shirt up and, again, he stopped just below my breasts and pulled it back down.

I stopped him. "Zak, why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?" he replied with another question.

"Lift my shirt up and put it back down."

"Oh. That. I don't know why I do that. It just became a habit, I guess."

"For the past year?"

"Yeah."

"Well, how about this time, you lift it up all the way?"

He stared at me, confused. "What? Why?"

"Zak, I think you lift my shirt because you want us to be intimate with each other."

"I—I—"

"It's ok. I want us to be too."

His eyes narrowed. "You do? Why? I mean, after the last time you were—"

"I know. But I know you won't hurt me."

"I won't. But why do you want to do it now?"

"Well, earlier, I found out that Zack and Selena have done it before, _a lot_ , and you and I haven't even done it once yet."

Zak sat up on the bed with a stern look on his face. "So, you just want us to do it because they've done it?"

"Uh, kind of," I replied. "You look mad."

"That's because I am."

"Why?"

"Why? Sarah, I don't think—" He sighed. "No. I don't want us to have sex."

"Why not?"

"Because you only want to do it because you're jealous of your brother and Selena."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are. And I don't think that that's what it's about."

"I think you're just saying that because you don't want to do it."

"No. That's just how I feel. I'm sorry, Sarah."

He stood up from the bed and walked out of the room, leaving me on the bed, alone and confused by what just happened.

I took that as a sign that I should go home, and I did.

* * *

"Mom!" I called.

"I'm in here, Sarah," she called back.

I found her in her room, sitting at her desk on her laptop. Nick was with her (no surprise), as well as Pikachu, Amber, Shillow, and Kimbia, and Spike.

She put down her laptop and faced me. "What's up?"

"Uh, can we talk alone?" I asked.

"Of course."

She looked at Nick and the animals, silently telling them to leave.

"Let me know when you're done talking with her," he said.

"I will."

He stood up, gave Mom a kiss on the cheek, and left the room.

"Alright, Sarah," Mom said. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Umm, did you know that Zack and Selena were having sex?" I asked.

"Umm, yeah, I do."

"I just found out today. When or how did you find out?"

"You don't wanna know."

"Let me guess: you caught them doing it?"

"No. Thank God. I actually found an empty box of condoms in Zack's room the other day, which I didn't like. We talked about it, but not for long. Why? Have you and Zak—"

"No. But if we have, I want to hear your opinion on it first."

"Well, a lot of parents would tell their kids to wait until they're married, but, even though they're right, most of them are hypocrites for saying that because they didn't themselves. Unless they wish they did, then that's not hypocritical. I would be to if I told you to do that. I was raised like that, and I did try to be celibate, but I allowed myself to get too caught in the moment. But I did eventually marry him, so it was kind of ok, but not really."

"Do you mean Nick?"

Mom nodded. "Yes. I was very careful with the men I had sex with. To be honest, I've only had sex with five men in my whole life. Most women my age would of had sex with a lot of guys, but not me. The first two men I did eventually marry. Unfortunately, the other three, not at all."

"The other three," I repeated. "Was the second man Dad?"

"Yeah," Mom replied.

"Wait. Are you saying that you—"

"Yeah."

"You had an affair three times?"

Mom looked ashamed, which she should be. "Well, I only had sex with each of them once. But, yeah."

"Who were they? Do I know them?"

"Yes, you do."

"Who are they?"

"The first one was your dad's boss. I didn't want to, but he kind of forced me by saying he'd fire your dad if I didn't, and your dad loves being a lawyer, but I still shouldn't have done it."

"Is that why you always call him a bastard every time he's mentioned?"

"Yes. Because he is one."

"What about the other two?"

"They were Zak's uncle and your uncle."

"Doyle and Uncle Rick?"

Mom nodded.

"How and when the hell did those happen?" I asked.

"I'm not going to tell you how, but with Doyle, it was during that first summer we met him and the Saturdays, when we were working on fixing that naga relic. And with _your_ uncle, it was on the night of mine and your father's wedding anniversary after that summer."

"On your anniversary?"

"Yes. But your father had also gotten drunk and slept with someone that night as well."

"Did you tell him about those few times you—"

"Yes, I did."

 _Is she lying?_ I asked my powers.

 _No_ , they replied.

"Why did you tell him?" I asked Mom.

"Because I knew I had to," she replied. "And I didn't want to keep that from him."

"How was he about it?"

"A little hurt, but he knew that he kind of deserved it. Except for that one time with his bastard boss."

I smirked at that.

"Anyway, is that the only thing you want to talk about was Zack and Selena?" Mom asked.

"Actually, no," I replied.

"Then what?"

"Before I tell you, what would you tell me about when I should have sex?"

"Well, I'd say that you should wait until you're married. Despite not having done it myself, I know that it's wrong to be in any sexual situation with a man you're not married to. If you won't, then at least wait until you're an adult and out of high school. I did."

"Why?"

"Because there is a lot less drama when you're an adult than when you're a teenager. Now can you tell me what's going on?"

I told her what happened with Zak, and that he didn't want us to have sex.

"I don't blame him," Mom said when I finished.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, Sarah, he knows what sex truly is, but you obviously don't."

"Why do you say that?"

"Sarah, were you thinking of having sex with Zak at all before you found out that Zack and Selena have been?"

"I . . . no."

"Then there you go. Zak can tell that you just want to do it because Zack and Selena did, not because you love him, and I can tell that too."

"But I do love Zak."

"I know you do, but what you're doing now doesn't prove it. There are two things: sex and making love. They're the same thing, but have two completely different meanings. Sex is about lust: two people who barely know each other at all and just wanna have fun. Making love is the exact opposite: it's passion and it's between two people who truly know and love each other. It makes their love even stronger than it was before. That's what Zack and Selena have, and damn anyone who thinks otherwise just because of their age. Age doesn't describe love at all. It's not like you can control it. But, unfortunately for me, not every time that I've been intimate with someone was it making love. The first few times with Nick, it wasn't exactly, nor was it with your dad's asshole boss, Doyle, or your uncle Rick. But every single time with your dad it was. I'm sure it would be for you and Zak if you put your mind to it right."

I took everything she said to heart, and it hurt. Hard.

I started crying. "I'm a terrible girlfriend."

"No, you're not," Mom assured me. "You've just gotta learn these things and how to handle them the right way."

"You're right. I need to go see Zak now."

"Hold on, Sarah. If Zak wants to wait until you're married to be intimate with you, he has a right to that, and you don't have a right to challenge it, or force him to by saying you'll break up with him if he won't, otherwise it'll prove that you don't really love him and you shouldn't be in a relationship with him if you can't respect that. When I was a little older than you, I was in a similar situation like that. I made it very clear with him before the moments leading up to that that I didn't want that to happen. He didn't respect me in regards to that, and he violated me. I've been in worse situations than that before—well, actually after that—but that was my first experience in that kind of situation, and I felt a lot of shame because of it." Mom started to cry, and her voice became a whisper. "And I didn't want to ever feel that way again. I mean, the first time I slept with Nick, it was really hard for me. It took me, like, an hour or so to get myself to finally commit to him because of that one experience. I was especially reminded of it after I had committed myself to Nick the first time because of . . . something after with Nick that had happened during that first experience. Anyway, if Zak wants that, you should give it to him if you truly love him."

"Was it hard for you after you were raped?" I asked.

"Kind of," Mom replied. "I'm not sure if I actually let that be a factor in it. I mean, I've always been self-conscious of that my whole life leading up to that. But I wasn't going to let it ruin any relationship I had, even if it took some effort. You shouldn't either, and you should go now."

"Thanks, Mom," I said.

I wiped my tears away and headed back to the Saturday's home.

* * *

I found Zak and we went to talk privately in his room.

"Zak, I'm so sorry for what I did—or tried to get you to do," I said. "It was wrong, and I realize that now. I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's alright," he said, caressing my cheek with his hand.

"No, it's not."

"Well, it is now."

I sighed. "I don't deserve someone like you."

"Neither do I. That's what makes us perfect for each other."

I smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, and I always will. But do you still want to do that?"

"Make love? Yes, but not for the reason I wanted to before."

"Then why?"

"I just told you. It's because I love you, and I want to show it to you. Do you?"

"Yes. But only on one condition."

My eyes narrowed. "Ok. What?"

"That we'll only make love this once, and not again until we're married."

"I promise," I said, holding up my promise ring on my finger.

Zak smiled, then he kissed me. I kissed him back.

He gently laid me on his bed. After a moment, he started to lift my shirt and, well . . . you know.

* * *

 **Well, we sure learned some things in this chapter that may be a little surprising. This chapter's original title was:** _I Get Jealous of My Twin Brother and My Best Friend._

 **The answer to my last quiz was:** _Never Been Hurt, by Demi Lovato._

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	78. We Get a Surprising Gift

**Sarah's POV**

It's been two days since Zak and I made love, and I could barely control my smile.

It was so amazing, and I could tell that it did, in fact, make our love stronger than it was before. Nothing could destroy my happiness.

That is, until, Selena came to talk to me at school today.

It was third period. We were in English, and the class was about to start when she leaned over to me.

"Sarah, we need to talk," she whispered.

"Now?" I whispered.

"Yes. It's important."

"How important?"

"More important than anything you can think of that's important."

I looked at her. She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Wow. It must be that important," I said.

"It is," Selena replied. "Let's talk somewhere more private."

"Hey, what's going on?" Zack asked us.

They were sitting on either side of me, which was ironic since they were a couple.

"It's nothing, Zack," Selena said, faking a smile. "I just need to talk to Sarah for a moment."

"Now?" he asked.

"That's what I asked," I said.

"About what?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Selena told him."

 _Yet_ , I heard in her mind.

Ok, she was obviously lying to him. Whatever she was hiding, it was something Zack needed to worry about. Of course, he would worry about it whether she told him or not. We did need to talk. Now.

"We'll be back in a little while," I told Zack.

"Ok," he replied.

Selena and I stood up from our desks and left the classroom.

"Sorry about that," Selena told me. "I know now really isn't the best time to talk, but I couldn't wait any longer."

"It's ok," I said. "I'll take any excuse to get out of English."

It was my worst subject. Well, not really. I mean, I get a B+ average in it, but it's my least favorite subject.

"So where do you wanna talk about?" I asked.

"In here," Selena replied.

She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the girl's bathroom. Yay.

"What's wrong, Selena?" I asked. "You've been acting weird all morning."

"I know I have been," she replied. "But it's only because I didn't know how to tell you this."

"Tell me what?"

"I'm pregnant."

I stared at her. Her expression showed no sign that she was kidding. I didn't even need my powers to confirm that she wasn't.

I didn't know what to say. "You are?"

Selena nodded. "Yes, I am."

"How?"

"You know how."

"Yes, I know how, but weren't you and Zack using protection?"

"Yes. But you know that a condom breaks sometimes, and with someone as strong as Zack, it's more likely to."

"Do you know how long you've been pregnant?"

"I took the test a few days ago, just before you found out Zack and I have been intimate with each other."

"You've known that long and you're finally tell me? Who else have you told?"

"You're the first person I've told."

"So Zack doesn't even know he's going to be a father?"

"Not yet. I'm planning on telling him soon."

"You should've already told him."

"I know, but I don't know how to tell him."

"There's no good way of telling him, unless you were married, which you're not."

"Yeah."

She twisted her promise ring on her finger. Zack gave it to her two years ago. The only difference between her ring and mine is that her word carvings say 'I love you.'

But a realization hit me: Zak and I made love two days ago.

I looked in the mirror, turned to the side, and looked at my stomach.

"Sarah, what is it?" Selena asked.

"Zak and I made love the other day," I replied.

"Oh. Did you use protection?"

"I don't think so. But we only did it once. Can you get pregnant the very first time you make love?"

"I don't know. But do you think you are?"

"I don't know."

"Have you been feeling different lately?"

"Can you really feel anything different about something when it's only been two days?"

"Sometimes. Yeah."

"Do you feel different?"

"Physically? No. Emotionally? Yes. We'll go get you a test after school, ok?"

I nodded in agreement. "Ok."

"Let's get back to class."

"Ok."

* * *

It turns out you can get pregnant when it's only been two days since the first time you've ever made love.

As I looked down at the positive test that I held in my hands, I thought about how much my life was going to change and about what Zak would say and/or do. I just had a feeling it wasn't going to be good.

"It's going to be ok, Sarah," Selena assured me. "We'll get through this together."

I half-smiled at her. "Thanks, Selena. I know we will. I just don't know how I'm going to tell Zak."

"How about we tell the father of our babies together?"

I thought about it for a moment, but shook my head. "No. I want to tell him alone. But how about we agree to tell them at about the same time?"

"Ok. When do you plan on telling your Zak?"

"The next time I see him. But most girls usually tell their mothers first before they tell the father, so I'm going to do that."

"Then I guess I will too. I'm going to have to eventually. Thank God our mothers are best friends."

"I know. Well, I better go tell her now."

"Me too. I'll call you when I'm done."

"Me too. See ya. And good luck."

"You too."

We went our separate ways for a while.

I found my mom with Nick at home.

Augh, he is so annoying. I've gotten to know him well in the past year, and I like him a lot. So much that I kind of consider him to be my second father because he treats me like I'm his daughter, but he is with my mom _all the time_. Wherever she is, you're bound to find him with her. It's gotten to be quite annoying.

I got my mom alone. I told her that I was pregnant and showed her the test as proof.

She sighed. "Did you not use protection?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Well, I'm kind of glad about that. I was also raised against that, and I don't like to use it so much myself."

"But we only made love that one time. Is it really possible to get pregnant the very first time?"

"Well, my first sexual experience was a rape, and I got pregnant with Alex, so yeah. It is possible."

"Yeah, but you had—umm . . ."

"Three men raping me? Yeah, but still. Anyway, so you're pregnant."

"Yeah. Selena is too, but Zack doesn't know yet. We planned on telling the father's alone, but at about the same time."

"And when are you planning on doing that?"

"Probably after this."

"Then you should go now. We'll talk more about it once everyone in both of our families know."

"Ok. But you don't really seemed surprised."

"I am, and I know you know how good I can control my expression. But this kind of runs in my family."

"Teenage pregnancies?" I asked.

Mom nodded. "Yeah. Well, one that I know of, anyway. And she was exactly the age that you are now. It happened long before I was born, but sometimes I use to hear my mom talk about it. But, based on what I heard about her, I know that you and Selena will be way better mothers than she was."

"What about the father?"

"Umm . . . again, based on what I heard, you don't wanna know."

"Meaning that you don't know, or that you do know, but don't wanna tell me?"

"That last one. You really don't wanna know. But based on that, I know that your brother and your boyfriend will be great fathers."

"I think so too. But, Mom, I don't know if I want to keep this baby."

Mom looked like she was about to cry. "Do you mean, like, adoption?"

"Of course," I said. "I would never want to abort my baby. Besides, didn't you make that illegal?"

"Yes, and I'm very glad of it. I am greatly against that, and I have been since the moment I first learned what that was. I think it's the most selfish thing a woman could do, no matter what reason, even if they were raped, like I was. I never allowed that thought to cross my mind when I got pregnant with Alex, back when it was still legal, because I knew I would never do it. And, honestly, I think in situations like that, if you do get pregnant, it's a test, and if you choose abortion, you pretty much failed that test and probably deserved to be raped."

I stared at her. "That's harsh, Mom."

"I know. I may or may not really believe that, but that's how strong I am against it. But, Sarah, it's not just your decision about this baby. It's also Zak's, since he's the father, and he has as much of a right in that decision as you do. Go talk to him now. Please."

"Uh, ok."

That was kind of weird. But my mom does sometimes tend to have some serious attachment issues.

Whatever. I needed to go see Zak

I called Selena and we both agreed to tell our baby's fathers now, but she was surprised to hear how soon I was telling Zak. Well, the sooner the better.

I went off to see him.

I was stalling for time, but, really, I was being a coward. I was sitting on the cliff overlooking the ocean and I've been there for half an hour. It took me that long to work up the courage to tell him.

I patted my stomach. "Ok. Let's tell him."

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and video called Zak.

* * *

 **Zak's POV**

My video phone was ringing. I looked at the ID and answered it.

"Hey, Sarah," I greeted.

"Uh, hi, Zak," she replied. "Umm, are you busy?"

"Uh, no. Why?"

"Can you come meet me outside? I need to tell you something."

"Uh, ok. But are you alright?"

"Just come meet me."

She hung up.

She was acting weird and I wondered why. Well, only one way to find out.

* * *

I found Sarah by the cliff overlooking the ocean. I sat down next to her, and she didn't turn to look at me. She just stared off into the distance.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

She looked down at herself and closed her eyes. "I—I have to tell you something."

"Ok. What is it?"

"Do you remember when we made love the other day?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, as a result of that, I, uh . . . I got, uh—"

"Sarah, what is it? You can tell me."

I noticed a tear streak down her face. "I'm pregnant."

I stared at her.

She kept her head down and had her hands on her stomach. She was serious. We were going to be having a baby.

I considered that for a moment . . . and I smiled.

We were going to be parents. A family. I looked at Sarah, moved closer to her, and put my hand on hers.

She looked at me, confused.

"It's ok," I said, smiling at her. "Actually, it's more than ok. It's great."

"It is?" she asked.

"Yes. We're going to be having a baby, Sarah."

"But we're not ready to be parents yet, Zak."

"We will be. I mean, we've got nine months to prepare, don't we? And weren't we planning on having kids someday?"

"Not now. Not before we were married."

"Well, why not start now when we're already ahead?"

"But I don't know if I want to keep it."

"I do. And I know you will too, eventually."

"Maybe."

I kissed her. "You will."

"Why are you so happy about this?"

"Because it's the happiest thing I've ever heard."

"Yeah, well, you still have to tell your parents, and I still have to tell my dad."

"Oh. Yeah. But we'll make it through this together as a family." I kissed her again. "I love you."

"Yeah. Me too."

* * *

 **Aww. Wasn't Zak being so sweet and supportive? Sarah, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be as anxious as he is. How do you think that's going to go?**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	79. We Gather to Talk About Our Situation

**Sarah's POV**

This was not the kind of family meeting I wished to have, but I guess I had no choice.

Zak, Selena, Zack, and I and our families were all gathered in our living room to talk about our babies.

"I don't understand this," Dad said. "We put you two in that Sex-Ed class to learn the importance of protection and you two don't even use it?"

"Oh, shut up, Cj," Mom said. "Maybe if they weren't in that class, they would've used it."

"That doesn't make sense, Raylee."

"It can."

"How?"

"Well, they were kind of pressured to use protection and that made them not want to use it. And don't say we, because I didn't want them in that class."

"We did use protection," Zack said.

"Then how did Selena get pregnant?" Dad asked.

"It broke."

"Alright. What about you, Sarah?"

I hesitated before answering. "No. But it was just one time. What are the odds of that?"

"Are you sure it was just one time?"

"Yes. Technically."

"Technically?"

"Cj, stop," Mom said. "And she's kind of right. I mean, it took us a week for me to get pregnant with her and Zack, and just a few days for Emily. It is weird how she got pregnant the very first time. But, then again, so did I."

"Well, it doesn't matter how possible it is, it's happened. Let's focus on that right now."

"Fine." Mom faced us. "What do you guys feel about this? One person at a time. Selena, use one word to describe how you feel now about being pregnant."

"Scared," she replied.

"Ok. Zack?"

"Worried."

"Ok. What are you worried about, exactly?"

"About how this will effect mine and Selena's relationship."

"Ok. I can understand that since I don't think I've ever heard of two people who had a relationship when they were teenagers and having a child then as well and staying together when they became adults. Well, in reality, anyway. I really understand that, but I believe you two can conquer that together. I mean, you've been together for so long. I doubt something like your child could break you apart. But anyway, Sarah, how do you feel about this in one word?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Guilty."

"Why?" Mom asked.

"Because it's my fault. I pushed Zak into it, at first, for a stupid reason, then I made it a better reason, but I never thought of once to use protection. So it's my fault."

"Ok. What about you, Zak?"

"I am overjoyed," he replied, sitting next to me. "I'm excited about being a father. So should you, Sarah, about being a mother. All of you should be. Having a child is never something that we should be ashamed about. It's the greatest thing of all, and I couldn't ask for anything better and neither should all of you." Zak grabbed my hand. "I will do all that I can to be the best father that I can be for our child, Sarah. And I know that you'll be an amazing mother. The same for you too, Zack and Selena."

He gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I wanted to cry. That was a beautiful speech, and it made me feel even more guilty and mad toward him. But it was clearly that's what my mom wanted to hear.

"I couldn't agree more," she said.

"Yeah," Dad agreed. Sort of. "But it sounds like you intentionally got Sarah pregnant."

"Dad!" I argued.

"Cj, shut up," Mom said.

"Well, it does."

"I didn't get Sarah pregnant on purpose," Zak said.

"I know you didn't," Mom agreed. "And I agree with you. I mean, why do people think that getting pregnant is the worst thing on earth? Some even think that getting AIDS is better. It's ridiculous. But, I guess, sometimes, it is, especially if it wasn't for the right intentions, like love. But you guys did it for love, didn't you?"

The four of us nodded.

"See. For that, I know you guys will be just as great parents as your own parents. Well . . ." Mom glared at Dad. ". . . most of them."

Dad rolled his eyes. Then he gestured to Mom. "Agreed."

Zack and I laughed.

"Anyway," Mom continued, turning toward Britney and Carl, Selena's parents. "What do you guys think about becoming grandparents now?"

"I think it would be great," Britney replied. "And I know that Selena and Zack will be wonderful parents as well."

"Me too," Carl agreed.

"Ok," Mom said. "What about you, Doc and Drew?"

"We don't really think that they're ready to be parents," Drew said. "But if Zak says he is, we believe him."

"I don't," Dad said.

"Why? Because they're teenagers?" Mom asked.

"Exactly. Teenagers are irresponsible. I doubt that they'll actually take care of their children and just leave us to do so."

"It's really nice to know what you think of your own children, Cj. But you know what? Adults are just as irresponsible, and I know that from experience."

"So do I."

"If you feel that way, then go away and come back in a year from now to see how wrong you are. And I doubt anyone will miss you."

Mom was mad. She walked past us and headed to her room.

"You just cannot stop pissing her off, can you?" Nick asked.

Mom was mad. She walked past us and headed to her room.

I stood up and went to go talk to her.

* * *

"Hey, Mom," I said.

She was sitting on her bed with her laptop. "Hey." She put her laptop down. "Zak's a really good guy. I've always liked him since I met him. I never thought I could like him more than I already do, but he always gets me to without even trying."

"Yeah, me too," I said without much enthusiasm.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. It's just, Zak wants to desperately keep our child, but I don't know if I do."

"Oh, come on. Don't make your dad right."

"I'm not. But I want to hate Zak for that."

"For being excited that you two are going to be parents?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because he makes it sound like it's easy. And he's not the one that has to carry it for nine months and then give birth to it, which is supposedly the most painful thing ever."

"Yeah. Blame Eve for that. But that's not his fault, Sarah, and you know it. Why are you being such a brat about this?"

"A brat? You've never called me that before."

"Only because you never been one before. Technically."

"But you usually say bitch."

"Not to my daughter, though I guess brat isn't that much better. But, Sarah, when I had Alex, I gave him up for adoption, and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I wasn't exactly in the best place to raise him, and I wanted to keep him, and Nick offered to help me, which I knew he would since he did help me through my pregnancy with him, even though he was a bastard about it in the beginning. But I did eventually give him up, though I didn't know that Nick had raised him since then until our wedding. But you are in such a better place than I was, and you have a lot of support. You're not alone in this, Sarah. I promise you, that if you give your child up for adoption, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Please go talk to Zak. If anyone can make you feel happy or excited about anything, it's him. After all, he is your boyfriend, and that's what boyfriends are for. Most of the time."

"Ok, fine. But were you serious about what you told Dad?"

"We'll see. Now go."

I left the room.

* * *

Everyone went home, but Zak stayed with me for the night.

"Zak, are you sure about this?" I asked, sitting next to him on my bed.

"Yes," he said. "Aren't you?"

"I don't know. It's hard."

"I'll try to make it as easy for you as I can. I promise."

"I know you will, but—"

"Please. I want to keep it and have us raise it together. I want to keep her."

" _Her?_ "

I looked up and realized he wasn't looking at me, but, in fact, our daughter, who was standing a few feet away from us with that smile she always has on her face.

I haven't see her in a year. She never looked any different. Same clothes, same age.

"Oh. Hi," I said.

She ran up to me and touched my stomach. I couldn't feel it. It was as if she wasn't touching me at all.

She looked up at me.

"Is that you?" I asked her.

She nodded.

I was pregnant with our daughter, whom Zak and I have been seeing since the very first summer we met. And this time, instead of going behind something and disappearing, she dissolved into thin air. I guess that would be the last time I'd see her until I give birth to her.

That thought made me smile, and get a little teary-eyed.

"So?" Zak asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Really?"

"Yes. I want us to have our daughter. Together."

"So do I."

"I know you do. You've told me that a million times. And now I do too."

My necklace glowed in response to that.

Zak rubbed my stomach. "I love you."

"I love you too," I replied.

And we kissed.

Mom was right. Zak did change my mind and got me to be excited about being a mother, but our daughter did most of the work. Now, only nine more months to go.

I could hardly wait.

* * *

 **Aww. They're finally having their daughter. I already have her name picked out a long time ago, but can you guess what it will be? Here's a hint:** She'll be named after one of the Disney Princesses.

 **The original title of this chapter was:** _Our Family Gathers to Talk About Our Situation **.**_

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	80. Something I Haven't Done in Three Years

**Sarah's POV**

I was sitting by the Missouri River, skipping some rocks across it, when Zack came and joined me.

"You're boyfriend is a pain sometimes," he said.

I smiled. "I know. But you can't hate him for actually being excited to be a dad."

"Not even a little bit?"

"No. Why?"

"He made us look like complete idiots in front of our parents. And you."

"Not on purpose. And we were being idiots."

"I know. But he still didn't have to do that. And our mom? I'd be careful if I were you when he's an adult."

"Mom won't steal my boyfriend. She has Nick."

We both laughed.

"How's it been with you and Selena?" I asked.

"Uh, good," he replied. "Thanks to Zak's speech, she's not too scared anymore and I'm not too worried anymore either."

"How about your baby?"

"We're going to check on it at the doctor's in a few days."

"Can I tag along and check on my own baby?"

"I don't see why not. And it's probably best that you two have the same doctor."

"Mom's going to want it to be a female."

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess I should say congratulations that you're going to be having a baby."

"Thanks. And congrats to you as well."

"Thanks."

I held my arms out to him and he took the hug.

We pulled away slightly and then it happened. I became so mesmerized by him that I leaned into him like I did the last time we hugged, which was . . . three years ago? Has it really been that long since the last time we hugged? Of course, if this keeps happening every time we do hug, then that's why it's been that long.

I leaned in, and Zack did too, until our lips touched. I parted my lips and he slid his tongue in. It felt great, but I eventually pulled away. I turned away from him, stood up, and walked toward our house, feeling mad at myself for what I just did.

Zack grabbed my arm.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" he asked.

"You know what is," I replied.

He looked hurt by that response, whether it was for the same reason that I was or because I was rejecting him, I couldn't tell. Probably the second one, which was worse.

I hated hurting my twin brother, but sometimes, in order to do the right thing, we have to hurt the people we love. This was one of those times.

I yanked my arm out of Zack's grasp and headed home, not daring to look back once.

* * *

Later that night, I was lying on my bed, trying hard not to think about my kiss with Zack earlier, but it was no use.

I hadn't really thought about our first kiss in a long time. Being with Zak really made me forget all about it. But, now, that was all I could think about. I liked it. And the weirdest part of all was that it didn't feel weird or wrong.

Wait . . . it didn't feel weird. Why didn't it feel weird? I wondered if it felt weird to Zack.

Only one way to find out. I got up from my bed and headed to Zack's room.

* * *

"Zack," I called, opening his bedroom door enough so that I could peek in.

He was lying on his bed, looking kind of mad. "What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

I entered the room, closed his bedroom door behind me and went to sit down on the side of his bed.

"That kiss we had, did it feel weird to you?" I asked him.

"No," he replied, sitting up on his bed. "Did it to you?"

I shook my head. "No. Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want to try it again and see if it feels weird this time?"

"Uh, sure."

I leaned in and kissed him a few times, then I pulled away. "Did that feel weird to you?"

Zack shook his head. "No. You?"

"No. Let's try it again."

We did, but still nothing. We just enjoyed it.

"Hold on," Zack said. "Let me try something."

He kissed me.

I parted my lips, he slid his tongue in, wrapped it around mine, grabbed it with his teeth, and pulled it toward him, bringing my mouth closer to his.

"Whoa," I said. "That was . . ."

"Not weird?" he suggested.

I shook my head. "No. Do it again."

He smiled with satisfaction. "With pleasure."

We continued to make out for the rest of the night, declaring that it wasn't weird at all for us. It went that way every night for the first few days, then it became more.

"Zack, are you sure you wanna do this?" I asked him.

"Only if you want to," he replied.

I nodded.

He kissed my lips, then went down to my neck. Then he lifted my shirt off of me and, well . . . you can probably figure out the rest.

* * *

 **Yeah, but we don't want to. Alright, well, we're back to this crap, which will be resolved in the next chapter with advice on how to deal with this kind of temptation, or any kind really.**

 **The original title of this chapter was:** _I Do Something I Haven't Done in Three Years_ **.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	81. Zack Tells Me a Surprising Secret of His

**Sarah's POV**

I doubt anyone has ever said this in the same sentence before, but having a fling with my twin brother was kind of great.

That is, until, I went to the doctor with Zak and we saw a sonogram of our baby girl inside of me.

"Wow," I said.

"I know," Zak agreed. "She's beautiful."

"She?" the doctor asked. "Do you hope it's a girl?"

"We know it's a girl."

The doctor was still confused.

"It's a long story," I told her. "But Zak and I are one-hundred-percent-positive that our baby is going to be a girl."

"Well, it's still going to take a few months until we can confirm that ourselves," she said. "But ok."

Looking at my daughter and seeing how happy her daddy was made me feel really guilty.

I was cheating on him with my brother, my twin brother, and pregnant with our daughter, who must be effected by that in some way. I felt even more guilty that I could be causing my daughter a lot of pain, both physically and emotionally. I had to stop this. Now.

After our appointment with the doctor, I took Zak home, then I went back to my home to talk to Zack, and I dragged him into one of the rooms downstairs.

He took that as a sign to kiss me.

"Zack, stop," I said. "We need to talk."

"About what?" he asked.

"About this. Us. We can't do this anymore."

"What? Why not?"

"You know why. Now stop."

He pulled away from me.

I sighed. "Zack, we're twin brother and sister. This is beyond wrong, and not just for that reason. I'm in love with Zak, and I don't want to hurt him, especially not like this. And I'm sure you do too about Selena."

"Yes, but—"

"And I'm also pregnant with mine and Zak's daughter, and Selena's pregnant with your child, who I'm actually sure will be a boy."

"What? How do you know it's going to be a boy?"

"Well, I just happened to remember about the dream I had when I was in my coma, and in it, you and Selena were married and had had a son when you two were sixteen, which you will be when he's born. I also remember his name."

"Really? What was it?"

"I'll wait to see if you name him that."

"A son. . . ."

"See?" I said. "Do you really want to do this to your son and Selena?"

"No," Zack replied.

"Neither do I to them and to my daughter and Zak. So let's stop this affair we're having, ok?"

He sighed. "Fine."

"You don't sound like you want to."

"That's because I don't. But at the same time, I do."

"Why don't you want to?"

"Because I—" He faltered, then sighed. "Sarah, I love you."

"You love me? What do you mean?"

"Sarah, I'm in love with you. More than as a brother."

I could hardly process what he just told me. "You're in love with me? Do you mean like how Zak's in love with me?"

"Yes," Zack replied.

"How—How long have you felt this way?"

"Since Nick saved me a few years ago when he gave me shelter during those months. All I could think about was you since Nick showed me how pained you were at losing me, and I would talk about you a lot. Alex made a little joke to me about me having a crush on you, and I knew he was right. Especially when you and I kissed. Don't you feel the same way?"

"I—no. I love Zak. Not you. Not like that."

"Then why were you kissing me back?"

"I—ok, I do feel drawn to you, but I don't want to be. Can't we just be brother and sister again without all the drama?"

"I don't want us to be."

"Well, what about Selena and your son?"

"I never wanted to hurt them."

"Then don't. Let's just forget this whole thing happened, ok? And your feelings for me? Fight them, because I'll never feel the same way."

"I realize that now. So, ok."

"Thank you."

Zack walked over to the bed and sat down on it.

I sat down next to him. "Do you want to know a secret of mine?"

"What?" he asked.

"You know how I helped you and Selena get together, five years ago?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, for about a year after that, until I met Zak, I had regretted helping you two get together."

He looked at me. "Why?"

"Because, Zack. You and I were so close before you and Selena became a couple. We were together all the time. But, then, you split all that time in half and spent the other half with her. That made me really mad and upset. So mad and upset that I became, I guess, a bitch and just let you have most of the time with her."

"And that's when Mom and Dad made Emily."

I nodded. "Yeah. You remember that?"

He nodded. "Yeah. We weren't that young that I wouldn't remember that. But I'm sorry I made you feel that way and neglected you. I kind of knew that then, though not to that extent that you would feel regretful for that, and I felt so guilty because of it, but I still didn't do anything to stop it."

"It's ok. That's how it usually is."

"Not with us it's not. That's what makes us special."

I half smiled. "I no longer feel that way, and I haven't in a long time."

"Because you have Zak."

"Yeah. At least, I hope I still do."

"And I hope I still have Selena."

I laid my head on his shoulder. "This could be hard."

"Yeah," Zack said. "Maybe we should go talk to Mom about this. She'll know what we should do."

"Yeah."

And off we went.

* * *

We found Mom, and Zack and I told her about us. She didn't seem too surprised, but she obviously was not happy about it, especially when we told her how far we've gone.

She sighed and looked at Zack. "I knew you wouldn't be able to control yourself for long."

"And you were right," he replied.

"Wait," I said. "You knew?"

Mom nodded. "Yes. Zack told me a year ago, and Nick and I have been trying to help him cope with it, but I knew it wasn't going to help forever. You can't keep a secret forever. Maybe for days, weeks, months, and years, but never forever. I know that from experience."

"Ok. But I don't understand why we feel this way for each other. We're brother and sister, and it didn't even feel that weird, even though I know it's wrong."

"That's temptation, Sarah. Being in that kind position is very personal. It makes you very vulnerable, probably the most vulnerable you'll ever feel, and you would only allow yourself to be that vulnerable with someone you trust very much. You and Zack have known each other your whole lives, and you trust each other with pretty much everything, right?"

We both nodded in agreement.

"That can be dangerous and cause you to do things you'll regret for the rest of your life, which is why you both need to get control of yourselves and stay in control. Temptation is something you should never give in to, even if it is for the right reasons, which is up to you to decide if it's right or wrong. If it's for the right reasons, like say with you Sarah and with Zak, and you Zack with Selena, you give into the attraction, the temptation, little by little, never full-speed-ahead quickly. You should not give one-hundred-percent into temptation until you're married. But giving into temptation for the wrong reasons, like say with you two, needs to be avoided at all costs. It is not good at all, no matter how hard you try, you can't make that a good thing. That could make the world much worse than it already is. I've allowed myself to give into the wrong temptations a lot, especially in the past few years, as you both know, all of which I deeply regret. It's something I never would've done when I was your age. Don't make the same mistakes. You two need to learn to make yourselves avoid those kind of temptations, no matter how much you hate it you know it's for the right reasons, and the sooner you do that, the better off you'll be."

"I know now Zack's feelings for me, and I don't them, and we want to stop this. Well, I do, anyway. How can we do this easily?"

"It won't be easy. But I think you should tell Zak and Selena, especially since you're having a child with them. I know you two love them and they're reasonable, and I know they'll help you two love each other like before. Ok?"

Zack and I looked at each other.

We didn't like the idea, but for the sake of our relationship with each other and Zak and Selena and our children, we did it.

* * *

We brought Zak and Selena together in a private room and told them everything. They were surprised, of course.

"Wow," Selena said.

"That's disturbing," Zak said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "And we want to stop it now for our whole family. Right, Zack?"

He nodded. "Right."

"Will you two help us with that?"

They looked at each other.

Selena turned to Zack. "You're in love with Sarah."

"Yes," he replied. "But I love you too. I mean it."

"But which one more?"

He hesitated. "Sarah. But I will do whatever I can to love you more than her."

"You can't always decide who you love, Zack. But I believe you. We can try."

He smiled and kissed her.

I turned toward Zak. "What about you?"

"Of course, Sarah," he said. "I'd do anything for you and our daughter."

"So would I."

He kissed me.

I smiled. "Thank you both for forgiving us and helping us through this. But let's just keep this between the four of us and try to forget about it. Agreed?"

They nodded.

Whoa. Ok. That went easier than I thought it would be. Mom was right: they were reasonable. Not that I thought they weren't going to be. And because of that, I knew even more how good of parents they're going to be.

And I couldn't wait.

* * *

 **Well, that takes care of that. I hope this chapter could teach you guys a little bit about temptations, and how we need to control them.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	82. Decisions, Decisions

**Zak's POV**

Sarah's into her second trimester now. She was showing and was doing whatever she could to not let it effect her too much.

My family and I were hanging out and chatting with each other when Sarah came in.

"Hey, guys," she greeted.

"Hey," we greeted back.

"Hi," I said, then gave her a kiss and rubbed her belly. "How's she doing?"

"She's doing fine and so am I," Sarah replied. "The doctor was finally able to confirm that she's a she."

"Finally."

"I know. But I didn't come here to tell you that. I came here to talk to you and your family about something."

"Ok. What?"

"Well, my parents are wondering about the living arrangements for our daughter, like how you and I are going to take turns with her."

"Oh. Do you have a plan in mind?"

"Actually, yes, I do. And that's why I need you all here."

"Ok," I said. "What is it?"

Sarah was walking around awkwardly. "Well, since you and I are not even sixteen yet—Well, you are. I won't be for a few more weeks. But anyway, we're not old enough to live in our own house yet, and I think we should raise our daughter together in one household so that she can have us both everyday without needing to go back and forth."

"Ok. I think we should too, but what are you saying?"

"I'm saying—or asking, really—if I can move in with you guys."

I smiled. "I'd love for you to. Mom? Dad? Can she?"

My parents looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to us.

"Well, we do believe that it would be best for you two to raise your daughter together under one roof," Mom said.

"So, yes," Dad said. "Sarah, you can move in with us."

"Yes!" I cheered.

Fiskerton, Komodo, and Zon agreed.

Sarah smiled, then she clutched her stomach.

"Whoa," I said. "Are you alright? Is she ok?"

"Yes," Sarah replied. "She's just excited that we'll be living together from now on."

"Uh, yeah," Doyle said. "When she arrives, try not to have another one while you're here."

Sarah and I glared at him.

"Come on, Sarah," I said. "Let's get you settled in."

That didn't take long. Sort of.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

Zak suggested that we do it the old-fashioned way without using my powers. For packing, anyway. But not everyone was happy that I was moving in with him and his family. Well, no one was, but one person in particular really didn't like it.

"What are you doing, Sarah?" Emily asked.

She was now five years old, and cute as a button, though I don't really understand that phrase since buttons aren't cute. She could run to her heart's content, and she loved being chased, especially playing hide-and-seek, which she was really good at, being as small as she is. She actually looked very similar to my daughter when Zak and I had seen her a few times over the years, but her features were slightly different from hers.

"I'm packing," I replied to her.

"Why?"

"So that I can move in with Zak."

"You're leaving?"

"Umm, sort of."

"But why? Don't you love us anymore?"

"Of course I do. I love you all. You, especially. But Zak and I want to raise our daughter together in one house. Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Yes. But not if you have to leave."

"Well, don't you wanna be an aunt?"

"I thought I did, but not anymore."

"Oh, come on. You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. I don't want you to go."

"I don't want to either, but I have to."

Emily stomped her foot. "No!" She turned to Zak. "I hate you! I wish you and Sarah never met."

She ran away, crying.

I had my own tears. I turned to Zak. "I'm sorry. I know she didn't mean it. She just—"

He held up his hand. "I know, and it's ok, Sarah. But you should go talk to her."

I nodded and went off to find my sister.

* * *

She was with Mom in her room, crying in her arms.

"Emily," I called.

She looked at me, then scowled and turned away.

I cried.

Mom beckoned me to try.

"Emily, I know you're mad," I said. "I get it. But you don't have to be."

"But you're leaving," she said.

"I know. But you'll still see me everyday. Just not as much."

"I don't want you to go."

"I know. But these things happen sometimes where you just have to let go. Can you do that for me? Be strong and brave and let go?"

She pondered it. "I'll see you everyday?"

"Everyday," I agreed.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Cross your heart and hope to die?"

I smiled. "Yes."

"Say it."

"I promise across my heart and hope to die."

"Ok. I'll hold you to that."

I laughed. "I'm sure you will."

Emily stood up and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I love you, Sarah."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around her. "I love you too. Now, do you still hate Zak and wish that I never met him?"

"A little, 'cause you're still leaving with him, but not as much."

"Then do you think you can apologize to him? For me?"

"I guess."

Emily got off of Mom's lap, who was smiling at the moment we just had, and she and I left the room together, holding hands.

* * *

Zak was still packing my stuff when I came back.

"Hey," he said when he saw me. "What happened?"

"See for yourself," I replied.

Emily came into the room. She actually ran to him and hugged his leg.

"I'm sorry, Zak," she told him. "I don't hate you."

"I know you don't," he said. "I would also be mad if someone tried to take Sarah from me too."

"Then why are you doing it?"

"I'm not. Sarah is."

"Oh, don't you dare turn this back on me," I said.

Emily laughed. "Well, can you promise that you will take good care of her for me?"

"Haven't I always?"

"Yes. But can you do it more now?"

"I promise if my life depended on it," Zak replied.

"And for my niece?"

"Of course. Definitely.

"Good. 'Cause it will."

Zak bent down so they could hug each other.

It was the cutest thing I've ever seen.

"Aww," I said. "Hold that pose for a moment."

I grabbed my phone and took a picture of them.

Best picture I've ever taken.

After their hug, we finished packing my stuff and I said goodbye to my family, leaving Emily for last.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said. "Ok?"

"Ok," she said.

"And, hey, you can probably go over there with me a lot more and hang out with Doyle. Would you like that?"

Her eyes widened, and so did her smile. "Yes! Yes!"

She tackled me in a hug. I laughed and hugged her back.

I don't really understand why, but for the past few years, she's grown to really like Doyle. I think she sees him as her second-father for reasons I'm not sure, even more than Nick. I think it's mainly because my mom had brought her with her a few times when she was helping Doyle look for Argost for us, and they may have bonded a little bit through that.

Then Zak and I headed off to his house.

We got my stuff set up in his room, and after we were done, I felt right at home.

* * *

Over the next few months, Zak and I prepared our daughter's room right next to ours with a crib, changing table, everything. We also got her some accessories, like clothing, stuffed animals (mine mostly, and some of Zak's, like his unicorn), and diapers. Yeah, we have more of those for her than anything else.

Now all there's left to do is wait until she comes out of me.

The last few weeks past and it was finally time.

Zak and I were with Zack, Selena, and Emily in the park near the river when my water suddenly broke and I felt a lot of pain, which was weird since Selena hadn't given birth yet and she got pregnant before I did, and my due date wasn't for another week. But, apparently, it was now.

I'm glad Zak was there, and he wasn't going all crazy like I thought he would be, but he was being calm, more than I was, and helping me. God, did it hurt so damn much.

Zack ran off to get our parents, while Zak, Selena, and Emily tried to help me back to my parents house, and we headed to the hospital.

It was time. It was finally time. Today would be the day that Zak and I finally became parents.

* * *

 **Their daughter's finally going to be born. She's finally going to exist. What do you guys think her name's going to be? Aww, and those cute little moments between Sarah and Emily, and her and Zak.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	83. It's Time

**Sarah's POV**

I was in my private waiting room in the hospital, having contractions one after another, and waiting to dilate ten damn centimeters so that I can finally give birth to my daughter. I was losing my patience, but keeping it under control. On the outside, anyway.

"It's ok, Sarah," Zak said, trying to keep me calm and holding my hand. "Just a couple more minutes. Breathe."

Easy for him to say.

What was a couple minutes felt like a couple hours. I wanted to glare at him, but he was just trying to help. Instead, I looked at my mom standing on the other side of the bed.

"I know," she said. "He doesn't help, but he's trying to. Though nothing really will help until it's time to give birth to her."

The contraction finally ended and I laid back against my pillow, my head beating with sweat. Zak wiped my forehead with a cool rag. It felt nice.

"She's almost here," he said. "Just hang in there."

I nodded.

"Man," Zack said. "Makes me glad I'm not a girl."

Zak and Selena slapped him upside the head, even Emily did.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're welcome," they replied.

"Hey, guys," Drew said.

She, Doc, and Doyle came into the room. Unfortunately, the animals couldn't come into the hospital, so they had to wait outside.

"Hi," I said.

"She's not here yet?" Doyle asked.

"No. Not yet," Zak replied. "She has to dilate ten centimeters before she can give birth. She's only dilated six so far, but at least she's more than halfway there."

"Yeah, I know how hard it is to wait when you're in serious pain," Drew said. "I thought Zak would never come out and I would have to deal with the pain forever."

Zak groaned. He was clearly embarrassed. I laughed, but it hurt a little.

My dad came in and gave me a glass of ice chips, since that was the only thing I could drink.

Then another contraction came on. It was like the more I had, the more they hurt and the more longer they lasted, which was probably how they were suppose to be.

* * *

A couple more hours passed, and I had finally dilated ten centimeters.

The doctors were now taking me to the delivery room, and Zak and my mom came along with the rest of our family went to the waiting room.

After the doctors finished setting me up in a room, I started pushing, but it was so hard with so much indescribable pain. Zak wanted me to hold his hand for support, but I was afraid—or, I knew—that I would break it, especially with my super strength, which you'd think would help me give birth more easily, but no. Mom offered her hand for me to hold, but I didn't want Zak to feel weak, though he probably already did.

"Come on, Sarah," he said. "I know you can do it, and our daughter does too."

He was right. I needed to push harder, but that was easier said than done. And the doctor was not helping by telling me to as well. But I tried. I pushed. Hard.

If I had a mirror, I'd probably see myself turning blue, because my head felt like it was about to explode. I kept pushing. The pain was so immense now that I felt myself slipping away.

"Here she comes," the doctor said. "One more hard push, Sarah."

That was probably all I had left in me. And it was. I gave one more final push, and my daughter was out, and so was I.

I felt dizzy, and I couldn't see at all, not even her. I was blind, then I passed out.

* * *

 **Zak's POV**

Hearing my daughter crying really made my day. I read that it means she's healthy when she comes out of the womb crying. After so many years of watching her appear to us as a five-year-old, she was finally here, she was real now.

Sarah did it. She actually did it. She gave birth to our daughter. I knew she could. But what I didn't know, was that her giving birth could come at a price.

I was so focused on our daughter that I didn't notice that Sarah had passed out. Or should I say, she wasn't breathing.

"Sarah?"

I shook her, trying to wake her up, but it was no use. I bent down and placed my ear above her heart, but I didn't hear anything.

"She doesn't have a heartbeat," I said.

"Sarah," Raylee tried. "Sarah, come on."

She wasn't responding at all. She looked so . . . lifeless. She couldn't be. Not now. Not ever.

"Sarah, wake up," I pleaded. "Please. You have to stay strong for our daughter. For me. We need you. Sarah!"

She didn't wake up. Raylee started to cry, and so was I.

The doctors finally got on her. They practically pushed me out of the room because they needed space to get to her. I didn't want to leave, but they made me.

They tried to get Raylee out, but she was tougher than I was. They let her stay and got working on Sarah, using those, like, electric shock "clear" things.

I watched through the small clear glass window on the door as they tried to get Sarah's heart beating again, but she just wasn't coming back through. I didn't want to lose hope, but I just felt like there wasn't any left. Sarah was gone.

I couldn't stand there any longer. I walked out to the waiting room where mine and Sarah's family were. A look of concern appeared on their faces when they saw me.

"Zak?" my mom asked. "Is everything ok?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I just found an empty chair, sat down in it, and completely fell apart.

"Zak, what happened?" Mom asked again. "Is the baby—"

"She's fine," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Sarah's not."

Everyone gathered around me.

"What happened to Sarah?" Zack asked.

"Oh," Selena said, rubbing her belly.

"What?"

"I've heard that there's a percentage, like twenty percent or so, of women dying giving birth. Is that what happened, Zak?"

I buried my face in my hands, which just answered her question.

She pulled me into her and hugged me, which was a little hard with her big belly and probably making her uncomfortable, but she managed. I cried into her shoulder.

"Zak," Raylee called, maybe minutes later.

She was standing in the doorway to the hall with a relieved smile on her face. "Sarah's awake."

That was all I heard. That was all I needed to hear. I stood up from the chair ran passed her, down the hall, and back to the delivery room.

Sarah was awake. She was panting a little, sweat still beading her face, and she appeared to be waiting for me.

"Why'd you leave?" she asked.

I didn't answer. I was so relieved that I just walked up to her and kissed her.

"Are you crying?" she asked when she pushed me away so she could breathe.

"Not anymore," I replied.

Sarah smiled. "Where is she?"

"Uh . . ."

"She's right here," one of the nurses said, holding our daughter. "Waiting for you."

She handed Sarah our daughter and she took her.

She was wrapped in a pink blanket, no longer crying, and her eyes were open. She looked exactly the same as we've seen her for years, except, you know, smaller and less hair.

"She has your eyes," Sarah said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "But she looks more like you."

"She's finally here."

"Yes. Yes, she is."

Sarah and I kissed to our new family.

* * *

The nurses helped Sarah to a new, more comfortable room while she carried our daughter. Then our family came in to see her.

"Oh my gosh," Selena said. "She's so beautiful."

"Yep," Sarah agreed. "We have a new little Saturday."

"Please don't call her that," I said.

"Why?"

"Because I've been called that before by he-who-should-not-be-named, and I don't want to be reminded of that."

"He? Oh. Right. Fine. I won't call her that."

"What's her name?" Emily asked.

Sarah and I looked at each other, feeling kind of stupid.

"That's what we forgot to talk about," Sarah said.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"You guys don't have a name for her?" Zack asked.

"No," Sarah said. "Do you for your son?"

"Yes. But we're not saying until he's born."

"I already know what it is."

"I know you do. But you don't know your own daughter's name."

"Not yet." She turned toward me. "What should we name her?"

"I don't know," I replied. "What do you wanna name her?"

"Hmm." She pondered it for a couple minutes. "I've always liked the name Jasmine."

"Like the Disney Princess Jasmine?" Raylee asked.

Sarah smiled sheepishly. "Maybe. She's my favorite."

"She can be a princess," I said. "Actually, she is our princess."

"Does that mean you like the name?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It sounds perfect for her."

"Jasmine Saturday. Yeah, it does."

"Alright. Everybody, meet Jasmine, our daughter, the newest member of the Saturdays and the Hollingers."

"Oh, boy. With that being your last name, you're going to have a crazy life. Hopefully I'll have that last name myself someday so I can join you."

I laughed. "I hope so too."

Sarah smiled at me and I gave her a kiss.

We finally have our family. And I couldn't be more happier.

* * *

 **Aww. Jasmine's born. This was so cute. How do you guys like the name Jasmine? You think it fits? I've had that name picked out a few years ago for her, and I love the name.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	84. Being Parents? Piece of Cake So Far

**Sarah's POV**

"Who's the cutest baby girl in the world?" I told my baby daughter, Jasmine, whom I was carrying in my arms.

She didn't answer, of course, so I answered for her.

"You are."

Zak and I have had her home for a week now and we just couldn't get enough of her.

A couple days after she was born, Selena went into labor and gave birth to her son and she and Zack named him Peter, like I knew they would from my dream. He was cute.

"But not as cute as you," I told Jasmine. "Mommy has to go to school now, and you're going to be with Daddy. Does that sound like fun? But don't worry. I'll be back before you get too bored with him."

"Uh, hey," Zak said, sounding insulted.

"Sorry, Zak. I didn't mean it."

"I'm sure you didn't."

I laughed, then gave him Jasmine. "I'll be back soon."

"Don't you get a maternity leave or something?" Zak asked.

"Yes. But this is school we're talking about. It takes a lot longer to catch up on than work. But I only have about two more years left of it, and I don't wanna drop out. After that, I'm free from school for us to live our lives, and I won't have to be separated from either of you forty hours a week."

"I know. And I can't wait."

"Me neither. So I better go. Now, you know what to do, right?"

"If you do, I do."

"Ok. Well, if she gets fussy and nothing seems to work, just play her a song of mine and that should calm her down."

"I know. But promise to play one for her and me in person when you get back."

"I will. Bye. And have fun."

I gave them both a kiss and went on my way to school.

* * *

It's only been ten minutes, and I already miss Jasmine. Being separated from your newborn for the first time really was hard. And I'm glad I wasn't the only one.

"Hi," Selena and Zack said to me on our way to our first class, and they seemed sad.

"You miss him?" I asked.

They both nodded.

"I miss my daughter too. But we'll be back with them after school's done."

"Yeah, but we'll probably have homework to do," Zack said.

"Maybe. But we can do both."

They stared at me.

"You really think we can?" Selena asked.

"No," I admitted. "But we can try."

"We'll see about that."

"Yeah. Zak is taking care of Jasmine. Who's taking care of Peter?"

"Both of our mothers," Selena replied. "My mom has him today and your mom will have him tomorrow and ex cetera. Though, they'll probably see each other during their turns with him since they are best friends and all."

"Yeah. Well, let's get through this day. I'm sure Zak will be tired with Jasmine by the time I get back."

* * *

 **Zak's POV**

I would never be tired with Jasmine. Why? She's adorable.

It was time for her nap. I fed her some of Sarah's milk from a bottle, making sure it was the right temperature first, and she fell asleep in my arms. I could've put her in her crib, but I didn't want to. I liked holding her.

I was sitting in the rocking chair in her room when my mom came in.

"Hey," she said, whispering. "Is she asleep?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Why don't you put her in her crib?"

"I like holding her, and I can't seem to let her go."

"I understand. It was hard for me to let you go sometimes too. But I had to give your father a turn eventually. Speaking of which, I came here to tell you how proud we both are at how you're handling this. Honestly, we underestimated how mature and responsible you are and this, she, just proves that you're a very good young man and Sarah too."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mom. I just want to be the best I can be for Jasmine and for Sarah."

"I can see that, and you are."

"Do you wanna hold her?"

"Do you want me to?"

"No. But it's not exactly fair to keep you or anyone else from holding her."

"You're her father. It is fair. Just don't do it to her mother."

"I won't."

After my talk with Mom, and watching Jasmine sleep in my arms, it made me sleepy too. I haven't exactly gotten much sleep since she's been here, partly because I love watching her sleep. I still didn't want to put her in her crib, so brought her to mine and Sarah's room and laid her on the bed. Then I laid next to her and went to sleep.

* * *

When I awoke, Jasmine was no longer on the bed.

I started panicking. A lot. I looked all over the room, saying "Oh, no" the whole time. Then I went to her room and found Sarah sitting in the rocking chair, rocking and feeding Jasmine.

I sighed with relief.

Sarah laughed. "Looks like Daddy's about to have a heart attack."

"I am," I replied. "When did you get home?"

"About ten minutes ago. You know, Zak, there are reasons why cribs are meant for babies and have bars."

I started panicking again. "Why do you say that? Did something happen to her with me in our bed? Did she fall off?"

"God, Zak, you need to relax. She's fine. And she was far from the edge, but you need to be careful with her there, though I can tell you already are. Maybe a little too much."

"I just don't want anything to happen to our baby girl. Especially not under my watch."

"I know, and she won't. Especially with a daddy like you."

"And a mommy like you."

She smiled.

I kissed her. "So, can you sing that song for us now? Would you like that, Jasmine? Do you want Mommy to sing to us?"

"I suppose," Sarah replied.

I took Jasmine from her and Sarah went and sat at her piano that we set up in Jasmine's room. I sat next to her. Sarah started singing You Are Mine, the song she sang at her beauty pageant and won when she was six.

It's the only song I've heard her play that she didn't write:

I will come to you in the silence  
I will lift you from all your fear  
You will hear My voice  
I claim you as My choice  
Be still, and know I am here

I am hope for all who are hopeless  
I am eyes for all who long to see  
In the shadows of the night,  
I will be your light  
Come and rest in Me

Do not be afraid, I am with you  
I have called you each by name  
Come and follow Me  
I will bring you home  
I love you and you are mine

I am strength for all the despairing  
Healing for the ones who dwell in shame  
All the blind will see, the lame will all run free  
And all will know My name

Do not be afraid, I am with you  
I have called you each by name  
Come and follow Me  
I will bring you home  
I love you and you are mine

I am the Word that leads all to freedom  
I am the peace the world cannot give  
I will call your name, embracing all your pain  
Stand up, now, walk, and live

Do not be afraid, I am with you  
I have called you each by name  
Come and follow Me  
I will bring you home  
I love you and you are mine

I really liked the song and Jasmine fell asleep to the comforting sound of her mother's voice.

"Hey," I said. "Do you think maybe you can write one for me?"

"Write what for you?" Sarah asked.

"A song for me to sing to her too. Or, maybe not sing, but at least, play it for her to listen to from me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's better than giving her a stuffed animal, wrapping it up in a blanket, have her hold it, and read a baby book to her."

"I think she would love that."

"I don't think she will, and I'm not going to try. I'd prefer a song over that any day."

Sarah laughed. "Well, I can try to write one. But I may already have a song in mind that I didn't write."

"Ok. What?"

She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her Playlist. "Well, I actually got this song from my mom's phone. I was looking through it one day, knowing that, as old as she is, she'll have a lot of songs on her Playlist that she likes and that maybe I could find more songs that I like too from her own taste, and I found this one."

She touched it and it started playing:

Look at the two of you dancing that way  
Lost in the moment and each other's face  
So much in love you're alone in this place  
Like there's nobody else in the world  
I was enough for her not long ago  
I was her number one  
She told me so  
And she still means the world to me  
Just so you know  
So be careful when you hold my girl  
Time changes everything  
Life must go on  
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first  
And a place in my heart will always be hers  
From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
And I prayed that she'd find you someday  
But it's still hard to give her away  
I loved her first

How could that beautiful woman with you  
Be the same freckle-faced kid that I knew  
The one that I read all those fairy tales to?  
And tucked into bed all those nights?  
And I knew the first time I saw you with her  
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first  
And a place in my heart will always be hers  
From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
And I prayed that she'd find you someday  
But it's still hard to give her away  
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
Someday you might know what I'm going through  
When a miracle smiles up at you  
I loved her first

As I listened to the song, while holding my daughter and watching her sleep, I think I saw one corner of her mouth turn up just slightly, like she was trying to smile in her sleep. I knew it was perfect.

Sarah wiped away tears from her eyes. "I like that song."

"Me too," I agreed. "I think I might play it for her every night when we put her to sleep. I think she likes it."

"I don't blame her."

We put Jasmine in her crib and watched her continue to sleep for a while.

There was nothing more beautiful than that.

* * *

 **Aww.**

 **Quiz time!**

 _What was the name of the second song that Sarah sang, and who sings it?_

 **You guys can guess the first one too if you want, though it's not quite like the other songs that Sarah's sung in this story.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	85. And So It Begins Again

**Zak's POV**

"Mommy! Daddy!" our daughter called.

"We're coming," Sarah responded, both of us leaving our room and entering her room next door.

"I want out," Jasmine told us, holding her arms up.

"I know you do." Sarah helped her out of her crib.

Jasmine was now about a year and a half old, and as cute as ever. She was walking and talking. She was also energetic as well. Like her mother, she loves music. But she seems to like dancing to it more than singing, though she was still young.

We were playing outside, throwing and catching a ball, then Jasmine wanted to listen to music and dance, like everyday, so Sarah got some hip-hop, which Jasmine likes more, and they both started dancing together.

I video taped them with my camera.

Sarah and Jasmine wanted me to dance with them. I objected at first, but then obliged. I shouldn't have. Once I busted out a few moves, they both laughed. Apparently, I was so bad that Sarah had to cover our daughter's eyes to spare her the humiliation. I stopped dancing there and just left them to do it.

A few animals came from the forest to meet the girls. Birds and squirrels.

Jasmine had inherited Sarah's aura, so the animals were also attracted to her. But I didn't know that she had inherited my powers until that moment.

It just happened suddenly. Jasmine held her hand out toward the animals and it and her eyes started glowing orange, like mine would. I don't know who was more surprised: me or Sarah.

The animals' eyes glowed orange too, which meant she was in control of them. They ran up to her and greeted her, then they danced around her. She started clapping and laughing. Sarah and I smiled at the sight of our daughter laughing.

I grabbed my camera and video recorded it.

"She has your powers," Sarah said, sitting down next to me on the log.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I guess I'm going to have to teach her how to control them. At least she'll have a mentor instead of learning how to control them by herself."

"That wasn't your parents fault."

"I know. I never said it was. It was as much of a mystery to them as it was to me. But it won't be for Jasmine."

"That probably explains why the powers surging from her is very strong, stronger than even mine when I was her age."

"Really?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. The mixture of my powers with yours is apparently very strong. And it can also be dangerous."

"I don't like thinking that our daughter is dangerous," I said.

"Me neither. So we've got to watch her as she grows up."

"Yeah. But let's just enjoy this moment right now. She's still got a long way before she's fully grown."

Sarah nodded in agreement. She laid her head on my shoulder and continued to watch our daughter happily dance with the animals.

That moment didn't last long.

* * *

A couple days later, I was left with Jasmine while Sarah went to school. It was her last year and both of us couldn't wait for it to be over.

Jasmine and I were playing with her stuffed animals in her room, then she wanted us to do something else.

"Come chase me, Daddy," she said.

"Ok," I replied.

I gave her a five-second head start and she ran out of the room and down the hall. I followed behind her, all the way to the living room, then I picked her up. She laughed.

Then she stopped suddenly and looked around the room.

"What is it, Jasmine?" I asked.

"Where is Grandma and Grandpa?" she asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure."

Now that she mentioned it, it was quiet. Too quiet.

"Mom! Dad!" I called.

No response.

Huh. _Where is everyone?_

I looked in a few rooms, but no sign of anyone. Something was very wrong here, and I had yet to find out what.

"Daddy, over there!" Jasmine said. "I think she knows where they are."

"She?" I asked."

"Daddy, put me down."

She was squirming in my arms, so I put her down. Then she ran down the hall.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"She knows where Grandma and Grandpa are," Jasmine replied.

"Who's she?"

"The snake."

"Snake? What snake?"

"That one."

Along the baseboard, there was a small black, yellow, and red striped snake moving in front of us. Jasmine followed it.

"This way to your family, little Saturday," it said with a raspy voice that sounded female. And it sounded familiar.

Wait . . . snake . . . female . . . Then it hit me.

I looked at the snake, and it regarded me with its cold, familiar eyes. We were in serious trouble.

"Jasmine—"

Too late. It happened so quickly that my eyes barely had time to adjust.

A black naga, the male one I recognized, come out of a connected hallway, grabbed Jasmine, and slithered away.

She screamed. "Daddy!"

"Jasmine!"

I ran down the hall and tackled the naga, causing him to drop her. I picked her up and tried to run, but more nagas showed up, including the queen. They had us surrounded.

"Hello, Zak Saturday," Rani Nagi said to me. "It's been a long time."

"Not long enough," I replied, holding Jasmine tightly. "What do you want with my daughter?"

"Have you not see her power? She would be quite useful to us more than you could've been."

"That's never going to happen. She's just a baby."

"For now. But when she grows up, she'll be an all powerful cryptid."

"Fat chance. Where's my family?"

"Your family is somewhere tied up. Just _where_ is the real question. Now, seize her!"

The nagas advanced on us.

I punched and kicked one away, making an opening, and ran. I was a lot stronger than I was the last time I fought them. I ran fast enough to lose them and headed to Jasmine's room. Once there, I put Jasmine under her crib. There were drapes around the bottom of it, so she would be hidden. No one could see her unless they lifted up the drapes.

She was crying.

"Shh. It's ok, Jasmine," I told her. "I'm not going to let them take you. Listen, I'm going to go fight them off while you stay here and be quiet. Here's my phone. Call Mommy and tell her to come. Stay here. If _anyone_ comes in here, stay quiet and don't move. You got it?"

"Yes, Daddy," she said, taking my phone, then she hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Be careful, Daddy."

"I will. I love you."

I left her there and ran off to fight the nagas.

I hope she'll be able to get a hold of Sarah. I know that she's just one year old, but she really knows how to use our cell phones, and has called us with them many times before. I just hope Sarah gets to her before they do if I'm not able to stop them.

* * *

 **Sarah's POV**

I was in the middle of my history class when my phone suddenly rang. I forgot to put it on silent, or at least vibrate. I looked at the Caller I.D.: Zak. Why was he calling me now?

"No phones in the classroom, Ms. Hollinger," the teacher told me.

"I know," I replied. "But I think this is important. I'll be right back."

I left the classroom and answered my phone in the hallway. "Hello?"

"Mommy?"

"Jasmine?" I asked. She sounded scared. "What's wrong? Where's Daddy?"

"Big snakes are hurting us."

"Snakes?"

"Uh-huh. And they can talk, like you and Daddy."

"Talking snakes?" Then it hit me. "Jasmine, where are you?"

"In my room," she replied. "Under my crib."

"Ok. Where's Daddy?"

"He is—" she faltered.

"Jasmine. Jasmine!"

"Shhh," she whispered.

"What?" I whispered back into the phone. "What is it?"

"Someone's in here."

That worried me. "Ok. Jasmine, you need to listen to what I tell you—"

She screamed.

"Jasmine!"

The line disconnected.

I put my phone away and activated my powers, teleporting myself to the Saturday's home to save my daughter.

* * *

I ran to Jasmine's room.

"Jasmine, are you here?" I called.

"Yes, Mommy." She crawled out from under her crib.

"Oh, thank God." I picked her up. "Why'd you scream?"

In response to my question, Komodo came out from under the crib.

"Oh. Where is everybody, Komodo?"

He walked out of the room and gestured for me to follow him. I did.

* * *

He led me to the airship. Inside, I found the Saturdays, except Zak, alone in separate rooms, tied up with tape covering their mouths.

I sighed. "Oh, come on."

I put Jasmine down, and she helped me drag each of them to the main control room. In hindsight, I probably should've just cut the ropes from around them as I found them, but I found it easier to cut their ropes all at once. I ripped the tapes off with my super strength. That made it sound like it hurt a lot.

"Ow," Doyle said.

"Sorry. Now, hold on."

I summoned my sword to my hand and cut their ropes.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Rani Nagi and her nagas are back," Doc replied.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out now."

"Where's Zak?" Drew asked.

"Umm, I don't know. Jasmine?"

"He went to go fight those big snakes."

"We need to help him."

They grabbed their weapons, I picked up Jasmine, and we ran off to find Zak.

* * *

When we found him, he was the living room, fighting off about a dozen nagas, having already destroyed half the room, including breaking the TV, the coffee table, and the couch slashed to pieces.

Zak's back was to us. He had his claw in hand, holding his own against the nagas, but he appeared to be limping.

I ran over to him and touched his shoulder. He turned to me, and I saw the full extent of his injuries. He had a couple cuts on his face, and some bruises on his arm. He staggered and almost fell to the ground, but I managed to catch him with just one arm since I was still holding Jasmine in the other.

His family and I pulled him away and to the side, me putting Jasmine down next to him, and we took over.

The nagas seemed scared now. Except Rani Nagi, of course. Her being the queen and all.

"Our daughter," Zak mumbled. "They want our daughter."

"Well, they're not getting her." I said.

Rani Nagi tried to respond, but I wasn't going to listen to her same bullshit again. I activated my fire powers, summoned a big fire ball, and threw it at them, sending them flying through the walls to the outside. They seemed to have come to the agreement that since we had arrived, it would be best if they retreated now, and they were gone.

Jasmine clapped. "Yay, Mommy."

I smiled. "Yes, yay. And sorry about your house."

"It's ok," Drew replied. "It's been destroyed much worse, as you well know."

Jasmine climbed onto Zak and kissed his cheek. "You were brave, Daddy."

"Aww," I said and took a picture with my phone.

"I hate snakes."

"Join the club," Doyle said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Now let's talk about that."

* * *

During the talk, Jasmine was helping me put healing cream on Zak's wounds and bandaging them.

"So they know that Jasmine has powers like yours and that they're much stronger," I said, more like a statement than a question.

"Yes," Zak replied.

"But how? We just found out ourselves two days ago. There's no way they could've found out this soon."

"I know. Do you think they were spying on us?"

"Maybe. But why? And how long?"

"Maybe they were waiting for you two to have kids, knowing that they would have Zak's powers through their genes since the War of the Cryptids," Doc suggested.

"Maybe," I said. "But that was five years ago. They've been spying on us that long, and now we know?"

"Well, however they found out, it doesn't matter now," Zak said. "What does matter is that they're going after Jasmine now, and they won't stop until they get her, kind of like they did with me. We're going to have to keep a close eye on her and move her into our room, Sarah, to make sure that no one will ever take her from us."

I nodded in agreement. So did everyone else.

Jasmine was confused by the whole situation, looking back and forth between each of us, trying to understand everything we were saying.

Poor girl. She had no idea how much danger she was in.

* * *

 **No, she doesn't. Not right now, anyway. I had to bring the nagas back in since I'm not really sure what happened with them, and this is how I'm doing it.**

 **The answer to my last quiz, for the second song, was:** _I Loved Her First, by Heartland_ **.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	86. A New House

**Sarah's POV**

Well, I'm eighteen now and so was Zak. Jasmine was almost two.

I graduated high school a couple months ago, and I am not going to college, mostly because of Jasmine, but also because I don't really need to since I already have my recording deal, though, it has been kind of slow lately. Dad doesn't like it, but too bad. Mom doesn't care, especially since she didn't go to college herself.

I was looking for Zak and I found him playing with Jasmine in the living room.

"Zak, can I talk to you for a moment?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied. "I'll be right back, ok?"

"Ok," Jasmine said, playing with two of her stuffed animals.

Zak and I sat down together on the couch.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Well, you and I are now eighteen," I started.

"Ok. I'm with you so far."

"We're now old enough to own our own house. Can we do that?"

"Live in our own house? Sure. Whatever you want."

"Really?"

"Of course, Sarah. I love you, and I'll do anything for you. But where do you want to live?"

"I've been looking at listings for houses near my old home with my parents and found a few that are for sale in that neighborhood."

"You want to live near your parents?" Zak asked.

I nodded. "Yes. It'll be easier for me to see Emily everyday like I promised her, and she can come see us too without having to call first."

"And what about my parents and the rest of my family?"

"You know I love them too, especially Jasmine. But your family's been getting around well since before you were born. Not everyone in my family can travel that easily, and it always feels one-sided. I want to make it easier for them."

"Ok. When do you want to look at the houses?"

"Now."

"Now?"

"Yes. And I can get a realtor in just a few minutes."

"Ok. Let's go then. Come on, Jasmine. We're going house hunting."

"Ok," she replied.

He picked her up and we went on our way.

* * *

Zack and Selena joined us on the house tour, because they were also looking for a house and they brought Peter and Emily along.

We went to a few houses in the neighborhood and they were nice. We were at another that was just a few houses down from Mom and Dad's house, and might I say, it looked exactly like their house, except smaller since our powers haven't worked on it yet. But that's not the only reason why I recognized it.

"I'll give you guys a few minutes," the realtor said.

"Ok," I replied. "Thank you."

The house was completely empty. No furniture was left behind from the current owners. They must've really wanted to leave this place behind and get rid of it fast. The price of it was close to a third less than the other houses up for sale. We all looked around and liked it. Obviously, since it reminded me and Zack of home, which was just up the hill.

"Well, I guess we'll be fighting for this one," Zack said.

"No," I said. "You guys should have it."

"Why?" Selena asked.

"Because you should."

"Mommy, I like this house," Jasmine said.

"I know. So do I. But your Uncle Zack and Aunt Selena need to have it."

" _Need_ to have it?" Zack asked. "Why do we need to have it? Is there a bomb in here with our name on it?"

Peter laughed. "That would be cool. Is there?"

"No," I replied.

"Then why, Sarah?" Selena asked.

"Because, the dream I had when I was in my coma, you two were living in this exact house together with Peter and—" I stopped myself.

"And who else?" Zack asked.

"Another child of yours. But I'm not going to tell you if it's a boy or girl, or it's name. Though I doubt you'll name it that now."

"Sarah, that was a dream. Some things may have come true from that dream, but I don't think everything will. Like, the demigods? Do you really think people like that will come true?"

"No."

"See. Now, I know that Jasmine likes this house, and I can tell you do too. You guys can take this house and Selena and I will take another house that we liked. Ok?"

"I'm in," Selena said.

I looked at Zak. "Do you like this house?"

"If you do, I do," he replied.

Typical.

"Ok then. I guess we're getting this house."

"Yay," Jasmine said.

Emily cheered.

I smiled at them and our new house.

* * *

A week later, Zak, Jasmine, and I were all packed up and ready to move into our new home. We've also decided to take Fiskerton and Komodo with us, which Jasmine was very excited about. Zon wanted to stay with Zak's family because she felt more safe here than there.

We were saying our goodbyes when Drew told us a surprise.

"I'm pregnant," she said.

"You are?" Zak asked.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Oh my gosh," I said. "Congratulations. I thought you two were going to have her a lot sooner, but I guess now is as good a time as any."

"She?" Doc asked.

"Uh, yes. I know you're going to have a girl and even what her name is going to be. But I'm not going to tell you what it is."

"How do you know?" Doyle asked. "Can you see the future?"

"Well, no. At least, I haven't tried. But I had a dream a few years ago with Zak having a little sister. That's how I know."

"Well, we'll see if it comes true," Drew said. "And sorry for dropping this on you at the last minute."

"It's ok, Mom," Zak said. "And congrats."

He gave her a hug.

"Yes," I said. "You two did a fine job raising him."

"That we did," Drew agreed.

We said our final goodbyes and headed to our new home.

* * *

 **Aww. They grow up so fast, don't they? Lol. And now Zak's getting a sibling.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	87. Our Daughter, the Cupid Killer

**Zak's POV**

This was just weird and freaky.

Today was Valentine's Day. Sarah and I, of course, were planning on going out to dinner, but nothing too fancy or romantic since we were bringing Jasmine along with us. And since we weren't the only one couple who had a three year old child, Zack, Selena, and Peter were going to join us.

During the day, they came over and visited us.

"Aww. He is so cute," Sarah said.

"I know, right?" Selena agreed.

Peter was just in his diaper with a red sash across his chest and a small bow and heart-shaped arrow in his hands, and he was sucking on the middle section of the bow. Poor little guy.

Sarah sometimes likes to dress Jasmine up in dresses, but her being a girl, she likes it too.

"He's Cupid," Selena said about Peter.

After she had said that, all chaos broke loose.

I don't know why, but Jasmine was playing wish some of her toys on the floor when she suddenly stood up and walked up to Selena since she was carrying Peter, jumped up, and grabbed onto his foot.

"Jasmine, what are you doing?" I asked.

She pulled him down, out of Selena's hands, climbed on top of him, and started punching him. "Die!"

"Stop, Jasmine!" Sarah said.

She and I grabbed her arms, pulled her off of him, and I held onto her.

He was crying.

Jasmine was struggling to break free from my arms. "He has to die."

"Why?" I asked.

"Selena, get him out of here," Zack said.

"Right," Selena replied.

She picked up Peter and opened the front door.

"No!" Jasmine said. "He can't leave here alive."

She bit my arm really hard and I dropped her. She ran to the front door, but Selena had already closed it.

Jasmine stopped. "And stay away." She turned toward me and Sarah. "I want to play, Mommy and Daddy."

Sarah and I looked at each other.

"Uh, play what?" I asked.

"With my pets."

In other words, her stuffed animals.

Sarah, Zack, and I were confused.

"Jasmine, why were you trying to kill Peter?" Sarah asked.

"I wasn't," she replied seeming confused.

"Yeah, you were," Zack said. "You even hit him."

"No I didn't. I wouldn't hurt him."

"But you just did."

"No I did not."

The three of us were totally confused.

"What the hell is going on here?" Zack asked.

Sarah shook her head. "I don't know. But maybe Mom does. Let me call her."

* * *

Raylee came over a few minutes later, along with Nick and the animals and Emily, and we told her what happened.

"Well, that's weird," she said when we were finished.

We nodded in agreement.

"And Jasmine doesn't remember attacking Peter?" Nick asked.

"No," Sarah said.

"Hmm."

"Let's bring Peter back in here and see what she does," Nick suggested.

"Yeah."

So we did that, and Jasmine tried to attack him again and Selena took him into one of the bedrooms and closed the door. Jasmine didn't remember doing it again either.

"Ok," Raylee said. "Selena, take the stuff off of Peter and come out with him just in his diaper."

"Uh, that's not gonna happen," she replied through the door.

"Why?"

"Because Peter is too scared to come out."

"Just try. Please."

She did and came out of the room with Peter just in his diaper, but he was clinging on to her shirt. When he noticed Jasmine, he turned away from her.

Jasmine didn't react to him at all. She just sat happily next to Komodo with one of her "pets", keeping him from biting its head off.

"What's going on with her?" Zack asked. "Did she just not like the costume?"

"Maybe," Sarah said. "But that's a weird way of her saying so."

"Only one way to find out," Raylee said. "I need one of you guys to put on a Cupid costume."

We stared at her.

"Raylee," Nick said. "I love you and I would do anything for you, but not that."

"Then you wouldn't do _anything_ for me," she said. "But I actually think Zak should do it."

"What?" I asked. "Why me?"

"Because you're her father."

"She's right, Zak," Sarah said, trying to hide her smile and failing.

I sighed. "Fine."

"I had my powers put the outfit in your room," Raylee said.

"Ok. Let's get this over with."

I went off to put on the stupid costume, which took a few minutes because I was very reluctant to do it. When I came back with the Cupid costume on, Zack and the male animals couldn't help but laugh. The girls were stifling theirs.

"You owe me for this," I said.

"I know," Raylee said. "But it appears to make your daughter want to kill you."

She was right. Sarah was holding Jasmine tightly in her arms and she was struggling to break free and come after me.

"Mommy, I need to kill him before he hurts us," she said.

"He's not going to hurt us," Sarah insisted.

"Yes he will. Let me go, Mommy."

"Jasmine, it's me," I tried.

She stopped struggling for a moment, hesitating, then continued. "He's already hurt Daddy!"

"No. I'm your daddy."

"No you're not!"

I felt really hurt by that. How could she not recognize me?

"Guys, look at her eyes," Raylee said.

We did.

"They're red," Zack said. "Like a vampire's."

He was right. Jasmine's eyes were red and screaming for blood. My blood, to be exact.

"Ok," Raylee said. "I'm going to zap Zak's clothes back on him and you guys watch her eyes."

We nodded.

Raylee used her powers to get me out of that costume and back into my natural attire.

"Good riddance," Jasmine said. Then her eyes turned back to their usual color: a dazzling black. "Daddy, you're not hurt."

"Uh, no," I said.

Sarah put her down and she ran to me and hugged me. "Thank goodness."

"Jasmine, who did you say 'Good riddance' to?" Raylee asked.

"Cupid."

"Ok. Why do you want to kill him?"

"Because he's bad."

"Bad how?"

"He's mean."

"But he's all about love. How is that mean?"

"It's not. But he's mean about it."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. I just know. And that's not what he looks like."

"What does he look like?"

"I don't know. But he doesn't look like that."

Raylee looked at the rest of us, making sure we heard her right, then turned back to Jasmine. "Ok. How about you and Peter go play while I talk to your parents, ok?"

"Ok. Come on, Peter."

He was reluctant to go with her, but he did eventually and they went to her bedroom.

"So, she hates Cupid," Raylee summed up. "And quite a lot for just being three. Has this happened before with her?"

"Once," Sarah said. "But not with a real person."

"When?" I asked.

"I told you. A year ago, I gave her a Cupid doll, and the next day, I found it ripped to pieces in her crib. She had used a knife, and she told me that he hates him because he's mean to the people that hide their love. I had asked her why she thinks that and she said she didn't think it, she knew it."

"I think I remember you telling me that," Selena said.

"I think so too," Raylee agreed. "But however she knows that about Cupid, she may never know herself. But we have to keep her from ever seeing Cupid again or she'll—"

"Go kill him," Zack finished.

"Yes. You got it, Zak and Sarah?"

We nodded.

"Yes," Sarah said. "But I really wish I got a picture of Zak in that costume."

"And I'm glad you didn't," I said.

"Oh, but my powers can make me one though."

I groaned. This nightmare was never going to end.

* * *

 **Well, that was confusing. Some of you may know a little bit as to why Jasmine is that way to Cupid, even though it won't be revealed for a** _very_ **long time.**

 **Anyway, Happy Easter!**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	88. My Daughter Gives Me Something From Zak

**Sarah's POV**

It was the beginning of summer.

Well, not yet. The summer solstice wasn't for another few weeks.

Both mine and Zak's family were all together at our house, hanging out and listening to music, mostly mine, at our house. The reason we were all here was because Zak called us together. Why? I don't know. But we all were about to find out.

Jasmine was a little too preoccupied with her new aunt, Whitney, who was born almost a year ago. Jasmine liked her and, as always, was trying to help Drew with her, but she wasn't being too much help. She seemed to actually be annoying Drew instead. I had Emily help her out.

"Ok, Zak," I said. "What's up?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Why did you call us all together all of a sudden?"

"Do I really need a reason? It's been a while since we've had a reunion."

"Ok. But why so quickly? And with a cake that you won't let us eat yet?"

He tried to say something else, but gave up and sighed. "Ok. Everybody, gather around."

"Is it time for the finale, Daddy?" Jasmine asked.

"It's not a finale. And, yes. Go get it."

She ran off down the hall.

"Go get what?" I asked.

Zak smiled. "You'll see. Come on."

He grabbed my hand and we sat down on our little love seat together. Everyone else sat around us.

Jasmine came back a moment later with her hands enclosed in something small.

She handed it to Zak. "Here you go, Daddy."

"Give it to Mommy," he said.

"Ok." She sat down between us and handed her enclosed hands to me. "Here you go, Mommy."

"Uh, ok," I said.

I held my hand out and she put whatever-was-in-her-hands on top of mine.

It was a small black box.

She opened the lid and I couldn't believe what was inside.

Zak grabbed my other hand and got down on one knee.

"Sarah, I've loved you for a very long time," he said. "We even have a daughter together that's just as great as you are, and I want us to become a more permanent family. Will you marry me?"

I smiled. "Yes."

I took off my promise ring.

"Can I put it on?" Jasmine asked.

"Sure," Zak replied.

Jasmine took the diamond ring out of the box and put it on my ring finger. Then Zak and I kissed, sealing the deal. Both of our families clapped for us. But not all of them were too happy about it.

"It's like we really are identical twins," Zack said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

In response to my question, Selena held up her hand and we noticed a diamond ring sparkling on her finger.

"Oh my gosh. When?"

"Last night," she replied.

"Yeah," Zack said. "But nice touch on having Jasmine give it to her, Zak. I did it after Peter went to bed."

"She wanted to give it to Sarah," Zak said.

"Yep," she agreed.

"Oh, great, use your child to give it to her," Mom said sarcastically. "That doesn't make a proposal worse than it already is."

"Raylee," Dad scolded.

"I know. But I can't help it. Zak, I thought when you called us all over here that you two were going to announce your engagement, not actually do the proposal."

"I'm sorry?" he said, though it sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Mom, what are you talking about?" I asked. "Did you know he was going to propose?"

"She was the only other person I told besides Jasmine," Zak said.

"Yes," Mom agreed. "Zak actually asked me if he could, like, 'pass down', my engagement ring onto you, and I said yes."

"Ok," I said. "But which ring is this? The one Dad gave you or the one Nick gave you?"

"Zak had Jasmine choose between the two, and she chose the one your dad gave me."

"There are more diamonds on it," she said.

"Ok," I said. "But why didn't you like Zak proposing to be now?"

"Because a proposal is suppose to be a personal thing just between the person that's proposing and the person he's proposing to," Mom said. "You shouldn't do it in front of a lot of people, especially both of your families. That puts a lot of pressure on the person receiving the proposal and it can be a forced yes to avoid the humiliation of both the people involved if the answer is really no. And that would be entirely the person who's proposing fault."

"Ok. But I wasn't pressured at all."

"I can tell you weren't. I would be, and still say yes, whether I truly meant that or not to avoid that. But, Zak, you still shouldn't have done that."

"Mom, do you think I would of said no?"

"No. Not unless you weren't ready."

"Well, I am."

"Ok. But—"

"Grandma," Jasmine interrupted. "Shut up."

"Jasmine," I scolded.

Mom laughed. "No, she's right."

"I know. But she didn't have to say it."

"Well, somebody had to. It was kind of cute. And she's right. You guys do your own thing, and congratulations to you both and to you two as well, Zack and Selena."

"Thank you, Mom. But you kind of ruined the moment a little bit."

"Sorry."

"Well, let's fix it with some cake and ice cream, shall we?"

"Yeah," Jasmine, Peter, and Emily agreed.

I smiled.

We had plenty of that to go around for us people and the animals. Zak and I even did a little practice by feeding each other the cake. It was a mess.

Hopefully, it won't be when we do it on our wedding day.

* * *

 **Aww. I thought it was so cute to have Jasmine give Sarah the ring and Zak take over from there.**

 **The original title of this chapter was:** _My Daughter Gives Me Something From Her Daddy_ **.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	89. The Movie, Part 1

**Sarah's POV**

It's been two days since Zak proposed to me and we, along with Zack, Selena, Jasmine, Peter, my mom, and the animals, were helping us plan the wedding.

"Hey, since you two are twins, how about you guys have a double wedding?" Mom suggested.

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "No."

"I agree," Selena said.

"Why not?"

"Because, Mom," I said. "A wedding should just be about the two people getting married, not the two groups of people getting married. I want mine and Zak's wedding day to be ours and ours alone, and not share it with someone else if I don't have to. I mean, if I did have to share it with someone, it would be with my best friend and my brother, but since I don't have to, no double wedding. Just a single."

"Agreed," Selena said. "And even if we did do that, we wouldn't be able to be each other's maid-of-honors, and I want to be."

"So do I."|

Fisk asked something.

"Yes, Fisk," Zak replied. "You can be my bestman."

He cheered.

I laughed. "So, what do you think about a double wedding, Zak?"

"Hey, as long as I get to marry you, I don't care," he replied.

"Same here," Zack agreed.

"So no, Mom," I said. "But would you do that?"

"No," she replied.

"Then why did you ask?"

"I just thought that, since you guys are really close, you'd want that."

"We're not that close. And weren't you a twin?"

"Yes. But I hated him. I even arrested him one time not long after I became the Protector of America."

"Really? Why?"

"It's not important why. I always knew he'd become a criminal. Anyway, back on your guys' wedding. Umm, since we're Immortals, I can have your weddings ready in about six months. Maybe even less than that."

"Really?" I asked.

Mom nodded. "Yes."

"That would be nice," Selena said.

"Oh," Zak said.

"What?" I asked.

"Well, I heard that it usually takes a whole year for a wedding to happen after the proposal."

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, I was waiting for months to propose to you on the day that I did so that we can get married on it the next year."

"Oh. Why that day?"

"You don't remember that day?"

"I'm afraid to say no, because it sounds important, but no, I don't remember."

"That day was the very first day you and I met nine years ago."

I thought about that for a moment. "Oh my God. That's right. It was. And that would be the perfect day for us to get married."

"So, do you want to wait until next year to get married?" Mom asked.

Zak and I looked at each other.

"No," I said. "But yes, we do."

"Ok."

"Do we have to?" Selena asked.

"Yeah, because I'm tired of sharing things with Sarah," Zack said.

"Not if you don't want to," Mom said.

"Well, we don't."

"Ok. Then let's work on your wedding day."

"Ok."

I laughed. Then my phone suddenly rang.

I answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello," a man on the other line answered. "Is this Sarah Hollinger?"

"Yes, this is she. May I ask who's calling?"

"This is Eric Coplar. I'm producing a new movie about a man whose an FBI field agent meeting a very poor and homeless, but beautiful and young widowed mother with two very young, still alive, daughters, and he protects them from harm as much as he can. And I would like you to play the mother."

"Uh, why?"

"Because you're young, and so is she."

"How young?"

"Twenty-six."

"Twenty-six and a widow? Why would you want me to play that?"

"Well, you have a daughter, right?"

"Yes."

"That's why. She might even be able to play one of your daughters. So how about it? You have to audition for it first, though."

"I don't know. It sounds like a love story."

"It is."

"Well, send me a script. I'll look over it and I'll think about it."

"Excellent."

I gave him my address and then hung up.

* * *

The script arrived an hour later, being sent down by a bi-plane flying by and dropping it with a parachute. It was kind of cool.

I read over the script.

"So?" Zak asked.

"It's good," I said. "The widowed mother isn't just poor and homeless, she's also a real badass."

"Kind of like you. And I mean that as a compliment. So are you gonna do it?"

"Well, it's a love story between the widowed mother and the FBI agent."

"Meaning that you would have to kiss him?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's only a movie, right?"

"Right."

"Do you want to do it?"

"Kind of. Yeah."

"Then go for it."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

I kissed him. "Thank you. And maybe you can audition to play the guy."

"Maybe."

"Well, let's go ask Jasmine if she wants to play one of the daughters."

"Alright."

* * *

It was the most difficult conversation I've ever had with her before.

"So I'll have a new name?" she asked. "And a sister?"

"Temporarily, yes," I said.

"Cool. I want a sister."

"She won't be your real sister."

"Oh. Then what will she be?"

"Well, she might be your friend playing your sister, and you'll be playing her sister."

"Playing? What do you mean?"

"Pretend she's your sister."

"I don't want to pretend I have a sister, Mommy."

"I know."

"I want a real sister."

"I know. And she'll be your sister, but she also won't be."

Jasmine tilted her head to the side. "I'm confused, Mommy."

I sighed. "I know. Look, can you try to do and say exactly what I tell you to no matter how confused you are?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Ok. If you can do that, then we'll be ok. Hopefully."

Zak laughed.

"You'll be helping," I told him.

"I know," he replied.

"You better."

* * *

 **Really short chapter, but there's a reason for it, which will be explained in the next chapter.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	90. The Movie, Part 2

**Sarah's POV**

Well, Jasmine and I got the parts as the widowed mother and the oldest daughter, but Zak got the part of the dead father that will be a short flashback scene of how he and the son died. Deadly car accident with only us girls surviving.

Now, we were going to meet the actors playing my other daughter and the FBI agent that protects me and us at the place where we will be shooting the movie, which was in California, of course. They were actually a father and his daughter.

"Sarah, meet Tristan McLean," Eric Coplar introduced us. "Tristan, meet Sarah Hollinger, her daughter, Jasmine, and Jasmine's father, Zak Saturday."

"Also known as my fiancée," I added.

"He's always like that," Tristan said.

"How do you know?" Zak asked.

"Zak, this probably isn't the first movie he's ever done before, and maybe he's even worked with that guy before too. Am I right?"

Tristan smiled at me with perfect white teeth. "One hundred percent."

He had black hair, brown eyes that had a twinkle in them when he smiled, and a dimpled chin. From a woman's perspective, he was quite handsome and young. I'd say early to mid-twenties.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," I said, holding out my hand to him.

He shook it. "You too."

"Umm, I was told that you had a daughter that would be playing one of my daughters."

"Uh, yes, I do." He looked behind himself.

When I looked down, I noticed a little girl standing behind him, holding his leg. She disappeared behind him when she noticed that I had spotted her.

"She's quite shy."

"I can see that," I said. "My daughter, on the other hand, is quite the opposite."

"Daddy, put me down," she said.

Zak did what she said and put her down on the ground. She walked up to the shy girl, still hiding behind her daddy's legs.

"Hi," Jasmine said to her.

"Hi," she replied in a small voice.

"Are you going to be my sister?"

"I think so."

"Cool. I've always wanted a sister."

"Me too."

"Come on out. You don't have to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. I don't hurt my sister."

She held her hand out to the shy girl. She hesitated at first, but seamed to believe her and accepted the offer of her hand and slowly walked out from behind her daddy, and we saw her full complexion.

She had chocolate brown hair and . . . brown eyes? Blue? It was hard to tell. They seemed to shift from color to color like a kaleidoscope. But that wasn't the weird part. Sort of.

I felt a strong power surging from her, especially when she spoke. But I didn't feel anything from her father at all. He was just a regular mortal. His daughter, on the other hand, was not. That was odd.

"What's your name?" Jasmine asked the girl.

"Piper," she replied.

"That's a cool name. Mine is Jasmine. And this is my mommy and daddy."

We waved to her. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Piper, Sarah here is going to be playing your mother," Tristan said.

She smiled. "Really?"

"Yes. For a little while."

He smile faded, looking disappointed. "Oh."

Seeing her look so sad made me sad. Jasmine too.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Uh, why don't you two go play around the set for a while?" Tristan suggested. "We'll be right here."

"Ok. Come on, Piper."

She grabbed her hand and they ran off.

"Stay in sight," I called to her. "And don't get in anybody's way."

"We won't," Jasmine said.

"Sure, she won't," Zak said.

"I know," I agreed. Then I turned toward Tristan. "Does Piper have a mother? I mean, I know we all have one, but does she, like, see and/or talk to her? I know it's not really my business, but—"

"No, it's ok," Tristan said. "You're just worried. I get that. But, no. She doesn't have her mother or anyone she wants to call her mom."

"Umm, I don't mean to pry, but what happened to her mother?"

"She disappeared. After Piper was born, she simply left. I never heard from her again."

"Abandonment," Zak said.

"Yes. I've been raising her alone ever since."

"Aww," I said. "That must be hard, being a single parent."

"It is at times. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to drop the subject."

"Of course."

Who and/or what Piper's mother was, I had a feeling Tristan didn't know. I decided just to let the matter go.

For now.

* * *

Over the next few days, Jasmine and Piper were becoming close. They would play around the set and chase each other. They even read lines together with us, of course, every single scene they're in, they're in together. And whenever Piper was nervous, Jasmine comforted her. It was so cute.

I was doing Jasmine's hair for the next scene and watching Piper a few feet away with a hair stylist.

Jasmine noticed. "Do you not like her, Mommy?"

"Oh, no, of course I do," I said.

"But you've been looking at her weird, like you don't like her."

"I've noticed that too," Zak said. "What is it?"

I pulled him a few feet away from Jasmine, though she could probably still hear us.

"Piper is not a hundred-percent human," I said.

"What?" Zak asked. "What makes you say that?"

"I can feel a strong power coming from her. Especially when she talks. But I don't feel anything from her dad. So whatever kind of power she has, I'd say she got it from her mom. And that's probably why she left because she didn't want anyone to know who or what she was."

"Maybe. But I have powers that I didn't get from either of my parents."

"That's different."

"How?"

"Because I'm pretty sure she didn't get powers from a Kur stone like you did. It has to be from her mother, and I kind of doubt her father knows himself."

"Ok. So who do you think her mother is? An Immortal?"

"Maybe. I mean, that's how it is with me, Zack, and Emily."

"Do Immortal mothers abandon their children?"

"Oh, Zak. I learned from my mother that it's wrong for anybody to think that people who are the same gender, race, religion, that they are better than people who are the opposite, and, frankly, they're not. So if fathers abandon their children, so do mothers."

"Alright. I get it. But I don't think you should be making a big deal about who or what Piper is. She's just a little girl."

"I know. But I can't help it. So I'm going to have my mother check her out from a distance. And here she is now . . . with Nick."

I sighed. Like I've said, I love him like a second father, but that guy follows her everywhere.

"He's her partner," Zak

They were heading our way, walking past Piper and doing whatever they could not to look at her while they passed.

"Hi, Grandma," Jasmine greeted.

"Hi," she greeted back. "So what's up?"

"You walked past that little girl over there," I said. "You felt some kind of power from her, right?"

"Yes, we did. And you said her father doesn't have any power surging from himself and her mother is no where to be found?"

I nodded. "Right. Do you think she's an Immortal?"

Mom and Nick looked at each other, coming to a silent agreement, and shook their heads. "No."

"Oh. How can you tell?"

"The power surging from her is strong, but not strong enough to be an Immortal," Nick explained.

"How so?"

"Can't you feel it, Sarah?" Mom said. "Take Jasmine and Peter for instance. The power surging from them is very strong, and their powers haven't even activated yet. Though, Jasmine does have her cryptid powers from her dad, which is probably why she's a little stronger than Peter. But Piper? Her power is weaker than theirs. So she's not an Immortal, because they're never that weak. Even at that age."

"Ok. But if she's not an Immortal, then what is she?" Zak asked.

"I hate it when people refer to a child as an 'it.'" Mom looked at Piper. "Do you think she's one?"

"Possibly," Nick replied. "I feel like she is."

"What?" I asked.

Mom became nervous.

"What?"

"Raylee, you should tell her," Nick said.

"I don't think I _should_ tell her," she replied.

"Tell me what?" I asked. "Do you know what Piper is?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"I can't tell you."

"What? Why not?"

"I just can't, Sarah."

"You _can't_ or you won't?"

"Both."

"Why not?"

"Because I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Him? Who's him?"

"Oh. Oops. I didn't mean to say that."

"Well, too late. You already did. So who's 'him'?"

"You should tell her, Raylee," Nick said.

"Ok, first of all, you know how I don't like telling people who I deal with as the Protector of America," she replied. "And second of all, why should I tell her?"

"Well, if you're considering of adopting him—"

"I'm not considering. I _want_ to adopt him. He just doesn't want me to, and I'm not going to force him."

"But you're not giving up."

"Of course not."

"Wait," I said. "He's a kid?"

Mom nodded. "Yes."

"And he's like Piper?"

"Yes. But I'm not going to tell you what they are."

"Because you promised him you wouldn't."

"Yes."

That boy sounded familiar, and I think I knew who he was.

"Is he Luke?" I asked.

Mom and Nick both stared at me.

"How'd you know that?" Nick asked.

"Mom, I had a dream about him in my coma, like, nine years ago. I told you that."

"Well, do you really expect me to remember every single conversation we've ever had since you could talk? Especially one from that long ago?"

"Well, no. But that one was important."

"You kissed him, right?"

"What?" Zak asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"I remember you telling me about that dream, but not that."

"Are you really that surprised that I didn't tell you about _that_ part?"

"So you admit it."

"It was a dream."

"That you were in control, right?"

"Of myself. Not of what happened in the dream."

"Except that part."

"Well, maybe."

"Why did you kiss him?"

"Oh, you're the one to talk. At least that was in a dream. You did it in reality."

"We were broken up. And you did it yourself during that break up too."

"What are you—oh. You did not just say that."

"Well, you did at first before he—"

"Oh my God, shut up," Mom said. "I agree with Jasmine here: cover your ears and turn away. I'm sorry I ever said that. I don't even know why I did, because I don't usually say those kind of things. But since I did, Sarah, I'm with Zak on this because you did it with your brother while you two were together in reality, and were pregnant with her."

"Oh," I said. "Right. You win."

"Good. Now, Sarah, if you dreamed about Luke, than you probably already know what he is and Piper too."

"I remember him telling me. But I can't remember what he said he was."

"Well, I'm not going to tell you. So good luck finding out on your own."

"I will."

"I'm sure you will. Now, enjoy doing your movie. Let's go, Nick. Nick?"

He was staring at Jasmine and she was staring back at him. They seemed to be having a silent conversation.

"Nick, what is it?" Mom asked.

"I have a feeling that Piper won't be the last person like her that she'll meet."

"What about us?" I asked.

"Well, of course. But her mostly. They'll be a big part of her life as she gets older."

Jasmine seemed to be listening to what he was saying, understood, and believed he was right.

She looked at Piper and was probably wondering what the hell she was and why other people like her will become a big part of her life.

* * *

 **Well, I hope that gave you guys a little incite into the next story. What do you think? It's a big mystery to Jasmine right now, but it'll all be clear to her someday.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	91. It Was Good

**Zak's POV**

It was mine and Sarah's rehearsal dinner and everybody we had invited was here.

Zack and Selena had gotten married a few months ago, had gone on their honeymoon, and were now expecting their second child together. (Sarah told me that they were going to have a girl, even though that hasn't been confirmed yet.)

We were all gathered around and Sarah and I gave a small toast, thanking everyone for coming. Sarah, Zack, and Selena had set up their instruments and a microphone stand.

Sarah walked up to it. "I'm going to perform a couple new songs tonight. Two of them are for my parents. They're, I would say, the perfect songs for this situation. I also have a song that I wrote for my daughter. I hope you all will like them, especially my parents and my daughter. This first one is for my mom. Hit it."

Zack and Selena did as she said and began playing their instruments:

Mama, you taught me to do the right things.  
So, now you have to let your baby fly.  
You've given me everything that I will need.  
To make it through this crazy thing called life.  
And I know you watched me grow up,  
and only want what's best for me.  
And I think I found the answer to your prayers.

And he Is good, so good.  
He treats your little girl,  
like a real man should.  
He is good, SO good.  
He makes promises he keeps.  
No, he's never gonna leave.  
So, don't you worry about me.  
Don't you worry about me.

Mama, there's no way you'll ever lose me.  
Giving me away is not goodbye.  
As you watch me walk down to my future,  
I hope tears of joy are in your eyes.

Cause, he is good, so good.  
And, he treats your little girl,  
like a real man should.  
He is good, SO good.  
He makes promises he keeps.  
No, he's never gonna leave.  
So, don't you worry about me.  
Don't you worry about me.

And when I watch my baby grow up,  
I'll only want what's best for her.  
And I hope she'll find,  
the answer to my prayers.  
And that she'll say . . .

He is good, so good.  
And he treats your little girl,  
like a real man should.  
He is good, SO good.  
He makes promises he keeps.  
No, he's never gonna leave.  
So, don't you worry about me.  
Don't you worry about me.

Mama, don't you worry about me.  
Don't you worry about me.

After she had finished that song, Raylee was crying.

"I already know that he's good, Sarah," she said. "And when have you ever called me 'Mama'?"

"It sounded better that way," she said.

"Well, I loved it, like I always do."

"Thanks, Mom. Now let's hope Dad likes his song too."

Wind blowin' on my face  
Sidewalk flyin' beneath my bike  
A five year-old's first taste  
Of what freedom's really like  
He was runnin' right beside me  
His hand holdin' on the seat  
I took a deep breath and hollered  
As I headed for the street

You can let go now, Daddy  
You can let go  
Oh, I think I'm ready  
To do this on my own  
It's still a little bit scary  
But I want you to know  
I'll be ok now, Daddy  
You can let go

I was standin' at the altar  
Between the two loves of my life  
To one I've been a daughter  
To one I soon would be a wife  
When the preacher asked,  
'Who gives this woman?'  
Daddy's eyes filled up with tears  
He kept holdin' tightly to my arm  
'Till I whispered in his ear

You can let go now, Daddy  
You can let go  
Oh, I think I'm ready  
To do this on my own  
It still feels a little bit scary  
But I want you to know  
I'll be ok now, Daddy  
You can let go

It was killin' me to see  
The strongest man I ever knew  
Wastin' away to nothin'  
In that hospital room  
'You know he's only hangin' on for you'  
That's what the night nurse said  
My voice and heart were breakin'  
As I crawled up in his bed, and said

You can let go now, Daddy  
You can let go  
Your little girl is ready  
To do this on my own  
It's gonna be a little bit scary  
But I want you to know  
I'll be ok now, Daddy  
You can let go  
You can let go

Well, all the girls were crying, even Sarah herself. I think more than she meant. It was a beautiful song as always.

I went to her and comforted her. Jasmine did too. Cj came to her as well.

He gave her a hug. "That was beautiful."

"Thank you," she said.

"Don't cry, Mommy," Jasmine said.

"I'll try not to. Now are you ready for your song?"

"Yes!"

"Alright then. Let's hit it."

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero  
I am strong and wise and I know no fear  
But the truth is plain to see  
She was sent to rescue me  
I see who I wanna be  
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal  
Darkness turns to light and the  
world is at peace  
This miracle God gave to me gives me  
strength when I am weak  
I find reason to believe  
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand  
around my finger  
Oh it puts a smile in my heart  
Everything becomes a little clearer  
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart  
has had enough  
It's giving more when you feel like giving up  
I've seen the light  
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future  
A reflection of who I am and what will be  
Though she'll grow and someday leave  
Maybe raise a family  
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy  
she made me  
For I'll be there  
In my daughter's eyes

Jasmine loved the song so much that she ran to Sarah and gave her a big hug.

She picked her up. "Ok. Umm, those were the only songs that I am singing tonight. But don't worry, Zak. I'll sing some for you tomorrow."

"I can't wait," I said.

"Me neither. We'll see you all tomorrow."

* * *

Back at home, we put Jasmine to bed.

"Daddy, can you play that song for me?" she said.

"Don't I always?" I asked.

"Yes. Play it again."

"Ok. But you need to go to sleep after it's done. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Ok."

Sarah got her phone, found the song Jasmine wanted to hear, connected it to a small speaker on the nightstand, and played the song:

Look at the two of you dancing that way  
Lost in the moment and each other's face  
So much in love you're alone in this place  
Like there's nobody else in the world  
I was enough for her not long ago  
I was her number one  
She told me so  
And she still means the world to me  
Just so you know  
So be careful when you hold my girl  
Time changes everything  
Life must go on  
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first  
And a place in my heart will always be hers  
From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
And I prayed that she'd find you someday  
But it's still hard to give her away  
I loved her first

How could that beautiful woman with you  
Be the same freckle-faced kid that I knew  
The one that I read all those fairy tales to?  
And tucked into bed all those nights?  
And I knew the first time I saw you with her  
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first  
And a place in my heart will always be hers  
From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
And I prayed that she'd find you someday  
But it's still hard to give her away  
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed  
When she first smiled at me  
I knew the love of a father runs deep  
Someday you might know what I'm going through  
When a miracle smiles up at you  
I loved her first

Jasmine eyes were half closed. "I like that song."

"Me too," I agreed. "That's why I always play it for you. And you don't you ever forget that, ok?"

"I won't. And I love you too, Daddy. And Mommy."

We smiled.

"Good night," Sarah told her.

"Good night."

We turned off the lights, and left the room, closing the door behind us. Once we got to our room, Sarah wiped away her tears. She had cried through the whole song.

"I really love that song," she said.

"I can tell," I said. "That is obviously a song that you play at your daughter's wedding. Do you think your dad will play it for you tomorrow?"

"I kind of doubt he will. We're not exactly like that."

"Maybe I can play it for Jasmine on her wedding day someday."

"And maybe while you're playing it, you can set up a screen playing home videos of all the great times you and her spent together over the years."

"That's a great idea. We should start documenting right now."

"Oh my God. You're going to make our daughter cry like crazy on her wedding day."

"In a good way."

Sarah laughed.

She moved closer to me, wrapped her arms around me, and laid her head on my shoulder.

"One more day," I whispered to her with a smile.

She smiled too. "I know. We'll finally be married in less than twenty-four hours, and be a more permanent family for as long as we live."

"Forever . . ."

". . . and always."

I gave her a kiss.

* * *

 **Aww. This was cute.**

 **Quiz time!**

 _What were the titles of the first three songs, and who sings them?_

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	92. Until We Said I Do

**Sarah's POV**

Well, it was kind of bad _before_ we walked down the aisle.

But first, let me state everyone's position in the wedding: Jasmine and Emily were the flower girls and wearing very beautiful blue dresses. Selena was my maid-of-honor—or, actually, she was my matron-of-honor since she was now married herself—and I only had Amber as my bridesmaid since Zak was only having Zack as his best man and Ulraj as his only groomsman.

Though it was a little different for Zack and Selena's wedding: Zak and I were the best man and maid-of-honor, but they each had three groomsmen and bridesmaids. But anyway, back on my wedding.

Selena and Amber were also wearing beautiful yellow dresses. I wanted them to wear orange dresses, but we just couldn't find or make any that looked good for a wedding. That color just doesn't belong in one at all unless, maybe, it was mixed with different colors as well. Oh well.

I had to have Peter do something so that he wouldn't feel left out, so I had him be the ring barrier. And, of course, my dad would be walking me down the aisle.

The animals were also a little dressed up themselves. Kimbia, Chewie, Toto, Fiskerton, and Komodo were wearing bowties, and the girls, Shillow, Amber, Kika, Honey, and Zon, were wearing real flower tiaras. So were Jasmine and Emily.

I was in my private room, dressed in my mom's wedding dress that she wore to both of her weddings to Nick and to my dad. It was really beautiful.

Jasmine came in to see me.

"Hi, Mommy," she said.

"Hi," I replied. "And don't you look pretty."

"You too."

She came over to me, kneeled down, and touched my feet.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Seeing if your feet are cold," Jasmine replied.

"Why?"

"Great Uncle Doyle said something to me about you and Daddy having cold feet, and I want to make sure they're warm, and they are."

I laughed. "That's sweet. But first of all, you need to stop talking to your Great Uncle Doyle until you're older and understand him better. And second of all, I know that me and your daddy will not have cold feet. Ever. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Zack, are you in here?"

"Shit," I cursed.

"Daddy," Jasmine called.

"Jasmine?" Zak called.

He peered into the open doorway. It was already too late to hide myself.

"Oh."

"Zak!" I said. "You shouldn't have come in here."

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he said. "I didn't know you were in here."

"Well, you do now. We should've put a sign on the door saying 'Bride's in here. Groom's out.'"

"I'm sorry. I'll go now."

"No, don't bother. It's too late."

"For what, Mommy?" Jasmine asked.

"Your daddy wasn't suppose to see me in my dress before the wedding began," I explained.

"Why?"

"Because it's bad luck. Now something bad is going to happen."

"Oh. Bad Daddy."

"Yes, very bad Daddy."

"I'm sorry," Zak said. Then he approached us. "You both look beautiful."

"Right back at you. Handsomely, I mean."

"Of course. You're still going to marry me, right?"

"Yes, Zak. This isn't going to stop me from doing so. And speaking of which, you two should go. It's about to start."

"Right."

Zak picked up Jasmine. Then he tried to kiss me, but I stopped him.

"Save it for the wedding," I said.

He smiled. "I'll be waiting for you at the end of the aisle."

He kissed me on the cheek and left the room with Jasmine.

It was show time.

* * *

Jasmine and Emily went first, dropping their flowers as they went. Then Peter followed, with Selena and Amber behind him. Now it was my turn.

"You ready?" Dad asked me.

I nodded and smiled. "Yes."

He held his arm out and I took it with one hand while carrying my bouquet with the other.

The typical music played and we walked down the aisle.

Zak was standing next to the minister and smiling to no end. I was also blushing to no end.

When we reached him, he held out his hand to me. I let my hand fall from my dad's arm and I took Zak's. I handed my bouquet to Selena so that I could hold both of his hands.

We said our vows to each other. Zak's, of course, made me cry. We then put our rings on and the minister asked the typical question.

"Do you, Sarah, take this man to be your lofty wedded husband, to have and to hold, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," I replied, though I doubt we'll ever die since we're Immortals after all.

"And do you, Zak, take this woman to be your lofty wedded wife to have and to hold, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Zak replied.

"By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

And Zak did. He kissed me. Everyone started clapping.

Zak and I began walking back down the aisle together, now as husband and wife, and that was when the bad luck happened.

As we were walking down, Shillow was at the other end of the aisle with her teeth bared, growling, and barked at us a few times. I was totally confused as to why she was doing that. Then she ran at us, the cheetahs following behind her. Zak pulled me with him to the side and they ran past us.

Then we heard someone scream, and we instantly knew it was Jasmine.

We turned around and saw Selena, Amber, Peter, Zack, Emily, and Ulraj all knocked to the ground. Jasmine was being taken away by someone with a tail. And we knew who.

"Does she ever give up?" Zak asked.

"No," I replied. Then I became enraged.

Everyone was running out of the room in fright. The only ones who stayed were Zak's family, now mine as well, and my parents, half-siblings, and Nick.

More nagas came into the room.

I was pissed. "You're not taking my daughter."

I lifted my dress up enough to charge after the one that had her. Everyone else joined me.

I kicked one away and punched another. Zak was covering my back. The animals got to Jasmine and freed her from the binds of Rani Nagi, leaving pretty good scratch and bite marks.

Jasmine ran to us. "Mommy! Daddy!"

I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her. "It's ok. You're ok. Mommy's got you."

"Seize her!" Rani Nagi said. "She's meant to be the new Kur."

"In your dreams," Zak said. "That will never happen."

"We'll see to it that it does."

They advanced on us.

We formed a tight circle around Jasmine, who was scared of the whole situation, like she should be.

The nagas came at us, but we were ready for them.

Right before we were about to deliver the first blow, something weird happened: the nagas eyes began glowing orange, even Rani Nagi's, which was even weirder. They were backing away.

"Uh . . . Zak?" I asked.

"That's not me," he replied.

And it wasn't.

We looked down at Jasmine. She had her powers activated and was looking very defiant.

"Leave me and my family alone," she said. "Or we all will kick your butts."

I glared at my mom, who was smiling sheepishly.

"She spends way too much time with you."

"You say that too, Sarah," Zak said.

"I know. And you know where I get it from."

We all were shocked by the strong power she possessed over the nagas, and even Rani Nagi, who was struggling to break free against it, but failed. They slithered away and Jasmine didn't deactivate her power until they all were completely out of sight.

After that, we all looked at Jasmine.

"Jasmine, that was incredible," I said.

"And kind of sad," Zak added. "I was never able to do that myself, but my own daughter can?"

"She's a lot more stronger than you were, Zak. But how?"

"Let's talk somewhere else," Mom suggested. "Like at the reception. Thank God it's not here."

So that's what we did.

We did the usual things before we talked. You know, our first dance as husband and wife, and fed each other our cake. Everyone else danced a little too.

But after the nagas attacked us, it really killed the moment, and Mom was trying to salvage it for all of us, but Jasmine was really the one that did the work without even trying.

She was dancing all over the place. Of course, she's been doing that since she could walk. Literally. A few times when we would go out to eat, she would ask the people sitting around us if they would like to see her dance, and they would say yes, so I would play a tune for her from my phone and she would start dancing. And quite professionally, I might add.

The people would love her, and sometimes dance with her. So would I. It's like she's more Selena's daughter than she was mine since Selena loves to dance herself. Whenever Jasmine hears a song she likes and can dance to, she has Selena make up a dance to it and she would teach it to her. Lately, she's been doing it all on her own and making her own dances. I have a feeling she's going to be a choreographer someday.

She continued to dance to hip-hop songs, but she really hated it when the song changed to a slow song. So she would play with Peter and Emily until it changed back to a fast song.

Me, Zak, both of our parents, all his family, and some of mine, sat around a table and discussed what happened at the ceremony.

"Jasmine controlled the nagas and Rani Nagi," Zak said. "She controlled them. I still can't believe it."

"You know what that means, right?" I asked.

"That she's more powerful than we originally assumed?" Zack offered.

I nodded. "Yes. Much more powerful."

"And she'll get more powerful as she gets older," Doc said.

"That could be a good or bad thing," Mom said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, it could be good because they won't be able to manipulate her because she'll have automatic power over them, and there's nothing they can do about it. But it could also be bad for us if she allows them to manipulate her."

"Why would she do that?" Zak asked.

"Well, she's still young. She doesn't know or understand them like we do. And I really hate saying this since she's my granddaughter, but if they get her on their side and have her agree that cryptids should be running this planet and not people, she could be a serious threat to us all and any other future children that you two have."

I glared at Zak.

"What?" he asked.

"You know what," I replied. Then I glared at Doc and Drew.

They were also confused.

I sighed. "I don't want to be forced to run away with my daughter to keep her safe from fucking assholes who see her as a threat and want to get rid of her permanently."

"Oh," Zak said, finally realizing what I meant. "That's not going to happen again."

"What?" Doyle asked.

"Us telling the Secret Scientists about this."

"Oh, you're damn right we won't," I said. "And if it does, I'll kill them all. And I'm serious about that."

"I know you are. I can't say I blame you."

"You better not. But, Mom, you said that this 'threat' could become worse if Zak and I have more children. Is that a hint telling us _not_ to have more children?"

"Ok, first of all, I didn't say that," Mom replied. "And second of all, it's not really more of a threat if you two have more children. It's more like a risk. The more children you two have together, the more Rani Nagi will go after them and get them under her control. I'm sure that if you two teach your children about this, that it won't ever happen. But, then again, it might not, because I've learned from experience that just because they're your off-spring, you shouldn't expect them to be like you, because the more you try to get them to be, the more they're going to be the opposite. So be careful."

"Well, I'm sure that you're going to make sure we are," I said. "But you're kind of saying that we shouldn't have more children."

"That's your choice."

"Well, I want Jasmine to enjoy having a brother and/or sister the way I do."

"She'll still have her cousins," Selena said. "They can be like siblings to her."

"Yeah, but they're not siblings and cousins are different. They're—"

I was interrupted by a loud noise right next to us.

Jasmine and Peter, I guess, were fighting over the only empty chair around us and caused it to fall over while they both were sitting on it. They didn't appear to be hurt and they were laughing.

"Well, I guess they _could_ be like siblings," I said.

"Would it be wrong for me to say that I don't want us to have anymore children?" Zak asked sheepishly.

I stared at him. "Well, it depends on the reason. Why?"

He looked distraught. "I don't want it to be like the last time."

"The last time? What do you mean?"

"Sarah," Mom said. "You know what he means."

It took me a moment to realized that she was right: I did know what he meant.

I looked at him. "Zak, that's not going to happen again."

"You don't know that, Sarah," he said. "I would like Jasmine to have a brother or sister, but not at that risk. Not again."

"I understand that, Zak. But life is all about taking risks. Just because it happened before, doesn't mean it'll happen again."

"Yeah. But it could, and it might."

I sighed. There was nothing I could do or say to get him to pretend that the inevitable doesn't exist.

"What?" Jasmine asked.

I forgot she was standing right next to us.

"Oh. It's nothing, Jasmine," I told her.

"It doesn't sound like nothing."

"She's right," Zak said.

"We'll tell you when you're older. Ok?"

"Ok," Jasmine said. "Do you want to dance with me?"

"Sure. I think we all should dance. Come on, Zak."

I grabbed his and Jasmine's hand and we walked to the middle of the dance floor. Jasmine went to choose a song for us to dance to, but Zak didn't seem to be in the mood at all.

"Please lighten up," I told him. "This is our wedding. And I'm finally a Saturday."

That got him to smile. "Yes, you are." He kissed me.

Then he tried to pick me up bridal-style, and rather quickly, but he lost his footing and we both fell to the ground.

"Ow," Zak said.

"Well, that's what you get for trying to pick me up," I said.

"Mommy, Daddy, are you ok?" Jasmine asked, rushing over to check on us.

"Yeah, we're fine."

We stood up from the floor. Then we danced the night away as a family.

* * *

 **Aww. Zak and Sarah are married now. I had to add some drama to it, though.**

 **Anyway, the first three songs of the last chapter were:** _Mama's Song, by Carrie Underwood; You Can Let Go Now Daddy, by Crystal Shawanda; and In My Daughter's Eyes, by Martina McBride_ **. Destiny W guessed the last two, and guessed right. Good job.**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	93. The End For Now

**Zak's POV**

Sarah and I went on a two week trans-Atlantic cruise for our honeymoon since there kind of wasn't any place we haven't already been to over the years.

The first night was a little awkward for us since we would probably be doing what a lot of people do on their honeymoons, and that's something we haven't done in years. Not since we've had Jasmine.

Now would be the first time since we've had her that we would try to do it again. But, as I've already mentioned, it was awkward.

"Are you ready?" I asked Sarah hesitantly as I stood really close to her.

She nodded, also very hesitant. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Same here."

I started with kissing her to get both of us comfortable and in the mood. And while doing so, I slowly laid her on the bed in our private room. Then I moved down to her neck and kissed it, causing her to moan. Ok, off to a good start.

Then I . . . well, you can probably figure out the rest of what happened that night.

* * *

"Wow," Sarah said after waking up the next morning. "That was even better than I remembered."

"Yeah," I agreed.

Sarah got on top of me and kissed me. "What do you say about making love again before we eat breakfast, only this time, in the shower?"

"I say ok." Then I kissed her.

We got out of bed and into the shower.

* * *

We were in it for about an hour. Longest shower I've ever taken. But it was with my new wife, so it was fine.

That was what we pretty much did for half the trip. At night we made love in bed and in the morning we did in the shower.

During the day, when we weren't in port, we would hang out around the ship, and when we were in port, we'd go out into the foreign land. A land we've probably already been to.

Sarah and I were upset that the trip had to end, but a honeymoon can't last forever, especially when you have a four-year-old daughter waiting for you at home. She was staying with Zack, Selena, and Peter while we were gone.

She was so happy to see us. "Mommy! Daddy!"

"Hey," I said and picked her up. "Did you have fun with Peter and your aunt and uncle while we were gone?"

"Uh-huh. It was boring sometimes, though."

"Same for us," Sarah said. "Now let's go home."

"Yay."

* * *

Later that night, I tucked Jasmine into her bed.

"Sleep tight," I told her.

"You too, Daddy," she replied and clutched her stuff bear.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite her, Komodo."

He did a little salute with his tail.

"I'm sure he won't since we all know how much he loves to eat bugs," Sarah said, coming into the room.

"Yep," Jasmine agreed.

"Good night, Jasmine."

"'Night, Mommy."

"Zak, can you come with me for a moment? I need to tell you something."

"Ok."

We left our daughter's room and closed the door behind us. Sarah grabbed my hand and led me to our room. She sat me down on our bed.

"What is it, Sarah?" I asked.

She went into the bathroom, came back a moment later with something in her hand, and sat down in front of me on the bed.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It's a pregnancy test," she said. "And it's positive."

I stared at her. "Are you serious?"

She nodded. "Yes, Zak. I know that you're afraid of what could happen to me since it almost happened the last time, but can you please be excited that we're going to be having another baby? He's not going to be happy if his daddy isn't happy either."

"He?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. I have a feeling we're going to be having a son since we kind of saw him that one time after I woke up from my coma."

"A son. Ok, now I'm excited. I am going to be anyway, despite how much I may not like the risk. But no more children after him."

"Deal. But you never know what could happen."

"True."

"Jasmine will probably be more excited than anyone else."

"Yeah, probably. Let's tell her tomorrow and she'll probably tell everyone else."

"Yeah." Sarah gave me a kiss. "Thank you. Everything's as it should be."

"For now," I said."

"Yes, for now."

I kissed her.

Honestly, I couldn't believe how far we've come to be where we were today. There have been some good times and some bad as well, but we made it through it all together, and we're still going strong.

I don't know what's going to happen next in our lives, but whatever does happen, we'll still get through it together. That's all that matters.

This is Zak Saturday, signing off.

For now.

* * *

 **Well, if you guys couldn't tell by the title of this chapter and Zak's last sentence, this is the last chapter of this story. It was kind of fun. Thank you to everyone that followed and favorited this story, as well as posted good reviews, despite the lack of description. I promise you the sequel will be much better. Originally, at the very beginning of this story, I was going to publish it the day after this story was complete, which would be tomorrow, but I've changed my mind. I have some other things I want to focus on before I publish the next story, and I won't do some of the same things with that story as I did with this story, one of them being updating everyday. I do have a lot of chapters for the next story written, but it was a struggle to keep up with _this_ , though it got a lot easier when the chapters started getting shorter. I hope to publish the sequel in about two weeks if I can get everything I want to do in that time done. It maybe three weeks though. I will leave this story uncompleted until I do publish the next story to let you know that it has been published, and you'll get a notification about it in your emails, unless you also follow and/or favorite me personally. But I'm really anxious to publish it. And until I do, I have a quiz for you guys regarding this story:**

What was your favorite chapter of this story? **I think mine would be the chapters of when Sarah was in her coma, chapters 61-64. That was a little fun to write, and better than the original situation I had planned for that.**

What was your least favorite chapter? **I'm not sure about that one. Maybe Chapter 24: Something in the Water. I think I had to write that chapter three times, because I think I may have written it out, and then lost it, and had to rewrite the whole chapter over again. That was a pain in the ass, and very upsetting that I just wanted to be done with it already and move on to the next one.**

Who was your favorite character? **I think it's obviously Sarah and/or Zak. Probably Zak. Yeah, they made their relationship hard sometimes for the other, but I think Sarah did that more Zak, and Zak loves her too much to stay mad at her, and he knows that she's sorry for it and wants to make it right. That's how I've always seen Zak, and I love that about him.**

Who was your least favorite character? **It would probably be one of their enemies, and their worst ones, I think, were the Secret Scientists, especially Arthur Beeman.**

Which chapter do you think was the longest? Which chapter was the shortest?

Sarah and Zak shared POVs throughout the story. Who do you think had the most POVs, and who had the least?

 **For those last four questions, I, of course, already know the answer to those, so I'm not going to say. Those are the real questions for the quiz to give you guys something to do until I publish the next story, and when I do is when I'll give you the answers to them. Thanks, guys!**

 **Please review. And please check out my wiki for this story at** WhenWorldsCollide. wikia .com **(no spaces).**


	94. New Story's Up

**The new story's up! It took a lot longer than I expected to publish it, but it's published now. The new story is called The Gift of a Best Friend, which you can find on my profile under My Stories. I'm so excited for it.**

 **Here are the answers to the quiz in the final chapter of this story:**

 **Questions:**

 **Which chapter do you think was the longest?**

Chapter 3, **The Kur Stone, Part 2** , with 9,980 words

 **Which chapter was the shortest?**

Chapter 45, **I Do Something Bad to Help Ease the Pain** , with 765 words.

 **Sarah and Zak shared POVs throughout the story. Who do you think had the most POVs, and who had the least?**

Zak's POV: 53.

Sarah's POV: 60.

 **Well, there you have it. I thought Zak had more POVs than Sarah, but I guess after the episode chapters were done with, Sarah started catching up with Zak, and ended up beating him by seven points. Good job. Now it's the next story's turn. Thanks to everyone who read this story!** **I hope you guys all enjoy it! I know I will. Bye!**


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